Fate: Zero Tranquility
by ariados26
Summary: Ilya's wish had finally come true: to become a bride and marry the person she loves, none other than her brother Shirou. Just before they boarded their private yacht for their honeymoon, however, she and her brother/husband were engulfed in a blinding light, and found themselves as Servants for the Fourth Heaven's Feel. What a way to ruin a wedding day. Ilya/Shirou.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Fate/Stay Night or any of the Type-Moon Novels and am merely borrowing their ideas purely for entertainment purpose only.

* * *

**Chapter 1: Wedding and Summoning  
**

"Shut (fill). Shut (fill). Shut (fill). Shut (fill). Shut (fill)."

"Repeat every five times."

"Simply, shatter once filled."

"――――I announce. "

In a secluded spot in Germany, where a large castle, belonging to the Einzbern family could be found, a man who was wearing a black suit and trench coat, who went by the name Emiya Kiritsugu, continued to look on emotionlessly, as the magic circle which he had drawn on the floor of the fortress' chapel, started glowing, along with the catalyst in the middle which he would use to summon his Servant for the Holy Grail War: Avalon, the ultimate protection which belonged to the Once and Future King of England. He was going to summon King Arthur, who is believed by Acht, the head of the Einzberns, to be one of the most powerful Heroic Spirits.

And indeed, Kiritsugu Emiya believed that the old man was correct. King Arthur, the King of Knights, would undoubtedly be one of the most powerful Servants, who would also undoubtedly fit for the class Saber, which all masters knew, based from their natural stats, as well as the records of the first three Holy Grail Wars, to be the strongest of all classes. True, the master of Saber only won once out of these three times, but Kiritsugu knew that in a war, there were other factors which could affect the outcome, strengths and weaknesses of masters, proper planning, the use of tactics, as well as... compatibility of Master and Servant, and it is for this particular reason that he could not help but feel worried. He may look calm and composed on the outside, but in reality, he was actually nervous on the inside.

Yes, he may be summoning the King of Knights, he may summoning the best Saber, he may be getting the best Servant as his familiar, but as far as he knew, all these advantages were useless if they cannot be utilized fully. True, he had already come up with a number of plans on how to utilize the Servant of the Sword for the War, but still, he was conflicted, and he actually wanted to summon a Servant that he could be comfortable with, preferably Assassin. The only reason why he had gone through with the plan was because there was also a decisive advantage in knowing who you are going to summon. Originally, he had been planning to summon a Servant without a catalyst, just like the winner of the Second Holy Grail War who, despite not summoning a well-known legend, managed to be victorious because he and his Servant were strikingly compatible. As Kiritsugu theorized, not using a catalyst meant that the Servant that would be summoned will be one that is best suited for the Master, since the Master himself would act as the catalyst.

In actuality, Kiritsugu was still conflicted at the moment, but he had already started the ritual, and there was no longer any turning back. He'll just have to deal with the consequences of his choice and make the best of his available resources.

"Your self is under me, my fate is in your sword."

"In accordance with the resort of the Holy Grail, if you abide by this feeling, this reason, then answer."

"Here is my oath. I am the one who becomes all the good of the world of the dead."

"I am the one who lays out all the evil of the world of the dead."

"You, seven heavens clad in three words of power, arrive from the ring of deterrence, O keeper of the balance――― HA-CHOO!"

As he finished the incantation, the magic circle he had drawn erupted in a wave of bluish white light, engulfing the entire area.

"Damn, I forgot to put a warming spell on," muttered the Magus Killer to himself, wiping his nose with a handkerchief. He had forgotten that the chapel did not yet have a heater system installed, due to the rarity of its use, being utilized only for the second time by him, the first being by the Einzbern Master of the Second Holy Grail War, as the place for summoning their Servant.

Still, everything had been thought of, everything had been going according to plan. True, using Avalon as a catalyst may not have been his preferred course of action, but even still, he had already come up with several scenarios, simulations, and statistical predictions on how to make the best of King Arthur's abilities.

He may have sneezed at the end. However, he did manage to complete the incantation before mucus went flying from his nose. The fact the magic circle was glowing, along with his Command Seals, was proof that the ritual was a success.

He had no idea just how wrong he was, or just how much effect a little snot getting into the middle of the magic circle would affect the summoning altogether.

**xxxXXXxxx**

"You may now kiss the bride."

Ilyasveil von Einzbern could say that she was probably the happiest person in the world. For now, she was married to the person she loved the most in the world, who was none other than her brother, Emiya Shirou, who reciprocated her feelings. Technically, he wasn't really her brother, at least not by blood. He was the adopted son of her father, Kiritsugu, which therefore means that it was alright for them to marry.

And as her bro- no, husband, gently kissed her on the lips, she felt like she was in a bliss, like she was in heaven, and she could hardly contain the joy that she was feeling in her heart, a moment which she wanted to last forever.

Yes, she remembered it, how they managed to make it this far. Her first meeting with her brother was, she had to admit, not exactly one which she was proud of. True, being the sadist at heart that she was, she still felt a bit of enjoyment when she recalled it, but it was nothing compared to the guilt which she felt as of present when she remembered that Heracles had almost split him in half, and that the only reason he survived was because he had Avalon implanted within him. Well, since she basically hated him then, being the adopted son of Kiritsugu, hence responsible for taking Ilya's father away from her, not to mention that he was also a Master then, Ilya knew she should let it be, but she could not help but feel slightly worried, worried that he might still hold it against her.

As she looked into his eyes, as they continued to lock lips, however, she felt all her anxiety go away. True, his eyes, just like the rest of his body, had changed significantly due to his constant use of Projection, but unlike the ones that Archer wore, Shirou's eyes still held warmth, the same warmth, which Ilya knew was meant for her, and that was enough to reassure her.

The fifth Holy Grail War, was one which could indeed be considered the bloodiest of all the Holy Grail Wars, for during this war, about a third of the entire Fuyuki City population died, or rather, consumed as a meal, by the Shadow which was Servant Avenger, or Angra Mainyu, All the Evils of the World. And the one responsible, the one who allowed the evil curse of the Grail to overflow... was Ilya. And yet, instead of betraying her, instead of turning his back on her, Shirou remained by her side, betraying everything that he had ever stood for, throwing away his dream of becoming a hero of justice, just for her sake.

His hair may have turned white, his eyes may have become steel gray, his body may have become tanned, he may have become powerful but in the end, he was still Emiya Shirou, not Heroic Spirit Emiya. Emiya Shirou, the boy who Ilya once hated yet had come to forgive. Emiya Shirou, the boy who had thrown away his ideals to protect the ones he loved, to protect her. Emiya Shirou, her younger adoptive brother, who she had fallen in love with, and who had also fallen in love with her.

Ten years had passed since then, and now they were happily married. The scars of what happened in the past may never truly disappear even if the wounds did heal, but with Shirou by her side, Ilya knew that everything would be alright.

And now, as Shirou started carrying her, bridal style, out of the church, Ilya, age twenty-nine, yet had the look of an eighteen year old, threw a boquet of flowers high into the air, to which several women, Luvia Edelfelt, Bazett Fraga McRemitz, and Ciel included, began fighting for its custody, a sight which made her husband groan while she watched it with amusement.

"IT'S MINE!"

"GET OFF, YOU OLD HAG!"

"YOU BITCH! I'M ONLY TWENTY EIGHT! YOU MIGHT LOOK YOUNG EXECUTOR, BUT I KNOW YOU'RE OLD ENOUGH TO BE MY GRANDMOTHER!"

Rin and Sakura, on the other hand, simply waved their hands at them in congratulations, before they quickly joined in the fray to stop the madness (Though their attempt, like Ilya expected, only made the situation worsen). Ilya knew of course, that they were not interested in marrying, owing to the fact that the two sisters were in 'that' kind of relationship (although since Ilya fell in love with and married her own brother, even though they were not blood related unlike Rin and Sakura, she was not really in any position to judge), but the three would have been enough to cause a lot of collateral damage.

Normally, Ilya would have been upset, since they were ruining her wedding, but since she and Shirou had no intention of attending their own wedding's reception anyway since the two of them were planning to have a private party of their own, not to mention that Ilya liked Shirou's cooking more than the food from the catering service, she did not really mind.

_If only Taiga and Saber were here,_ the albino sighed in her thoughts, for she was sure that things would get even more interesting if they were around, as she watched the boquet get torn into pieces, stems and petals flying everywhere, ensuring that no one would get the luck of finding a soulmate soon (and Ilya inwardly hoped that two of them, namely the Edelfelt and the Enforcer, remained old maids for the rest of their lives.).

And speaking of receptions, Ilya had to admit that it was a waste, that the Tiger of Fuyuki and the King of Knights were not around, for their presence would have made things more interesting. But since they were already helping out at the venue of the reception, ( although Ilya was certain that the two were gobbling as much food as they could before the other guests arrived without a doubt) they missed out on all the fun.

Yes, the fact that all these women were all in love and after Shirou, yet found themselves thoroughly rejected, was something Ilya found really amusing.

"It just goes to show that chest size isn't everything," Ilya said with a cruel smirk.

"Were you saying something, Ilya?"

"It's nothing, Onii-chan," the silver-haired homunculus said rather sheepishly. It was true that she had indeed grown a lot in the past few years, thanks to Archer's sacrifice, but even then, all the women who had gone after her brother/husband beat her in the chest department. Not that it mattered, since in the end, Shirou still chose her.

"I see," the tall man replied. "Anyway, Ilya, shouldn't you stop calling me big brother now? I mean, we're married, and besides, you're actually older than..."

"NO! ONII-CHAN WILL ALWAYS BE ONII-CHAN!" the silver-haired young woman pouted in a cute and childish manner, to which the white-haired man could only sigh in response.

In the past few years, Ilya had been understanding, and had allowed her brother/ex-boyfriend (since they were now husband and wife), to pursue his ideals, and in fact she had been helping him, the two of them always going into battle together.

If Ilya were to be honest though, she was not happy about it. True, going out and saving people had always been what his brother wanted to do, and helping him had sort of helped Ilya get some atonement for the sins she had committed when she was under the influence of the tainted Grail, but the fact that Shirou was always putting himself in danger, the fact that he could lose his life at any moment- Ilya felt that just allowing the person she loved to be always in constant danger was already too much for atonement. For every single moment, Ilya felt fear, afraid that she would lose the person she cared for the most.

Still, it was all in the past now. Everything was going to be fine. For now that they were married, Shirou was going to retire from working as a hero of justice. After all, he did promise Ilya that once they were married, he was going to stop pursuing his ideals, and that they were going to start a family.

And Ilya was dead set on making sure that he kept his promise.

Little did she know that their lives were about to take an unexpected turn, and it would not exactly be for the better.

?!

And it came in the form of a blinding blue light, which engulfed them just as she and Shirou stepped into a private yacht, where they were planning to spend their honeymoon.

**xxxXXXxxx**

Kiritsugu was confused. And for the infamous Magus Killer to be baffled, that was certainly saying something.

It did not show on his face, of course, because of his stoic pokerface, but inwardly, he was actually puzzled, unable to comprehend what was happening.

His purpose was simple. Summon King Arthur, the King of Knights, the greatest swordsman in history, to be his Servant in the Fourth Holy Grail War.

However, the figure standing in the middle of the Magic Circle, was definitely not one he expected.

Since it was the famed King Arthur he was summoning, Kiritsugu, naturally, had expected a knight, a tall blonde man perhaps, or a middle aged bearded knight, clad in medieval armor, as was shown in the many story books and paintings he had seen of the King of Knights in his life.

Instead, the figure in front of him... was a woman, of all things, who was clad, instead of armor, in a white dress.

And thus, Kiritsugu stood there, the Magus Killer, frozen, and had it not been for the control he has gained by mastering his emotions, he would probably have his mouth opened gaping.

Even in his dazed state, Kiritsugu was still able to think logically enough, to know for certain, that the one standing in front of him was NOT King Arthur. However, the real reason why Kiritsugu was shocked, was not because the Servant he had summoned was a girl, but because of the fact...

That she looked exactly identical to his wife.

_What the hell?_ was the thought that was whirling in Kiritsugu head.

For a moment. Kiritsugu just stood there blankly, staring at the female that was identical to Irisveil, who was currently rubbing her eyes, and in that moment a lot of questions popped into the Magus Killers' head.

_Did the summoning fail? Did I make an error? Is this some kind of prank? _Knowing his wife's nature, even though it was a very small chance, the possibility was still there.

And then, their eyes met, and the moment they did, Kiritsugu knew that he was wrong.

For the figure in front of him, no matter how similar they looked, was definitely not Irisveil, nor was she merely an Einzbern homunculus. She may look the same, she may seem familiar, but now, Kiristsugu was sure that the figure was a Servant. For the silver-haired albino, was powerful, and was emitting an outrageous amount of prana, a formidable presence that could only belong to a Heroic Spirit. He may not approve of having a female Servant, he may not have summoned King Arthur, but the figure, Kiritsugu was now certain, was definitely a Servant.

"You..."

After all, it was the first time in his entire life that he had felt such an intense killing intent, even stronger than any he had ever felt before, even those from Dead Apostles... and it was aimed right at him.

Realizing the danger he was in, Kiritsugu quickly readied his Command Seals while slowly backing away from the enraged Heroic Spirit (?). After all, it was common knowledge that a Servant, despite having a contract, can still attack its Master despite the existence of the Command Spells, as proven by the fact that, according to reliable sources of information, the Master of Berserker in the Second Holy Grail War was forced to use a command seal to calm down the Mad Servant and stop said Servant for killing its master.

_Hmmm... is it possible that despite not chanting the final two lines, I have summoned Berserker?_ thought Kiritsugu to himself. True, the Servant may look not look so bad _(Beautiful, she looks just like my wife, but Irisveil is more beautiful than her by a longshot._), but the rage in her eyes may prove his theory to be correct.

"How dare you..."

With a sense of urgency, Kiritsugu activated his Command Spells, as one of the marks on his hand began glowing.

"RUIN MY WEDDING DAY!"

_Crap,_ the Magus Killer cursed to himself.

But he was too late. Before he could utter the command to calm down his Rogue Servant, said Servant, with incredible speed, was already charging towards him.

**Time Alter Double Accel!**

Feeling himself at death's door, Kiritsuu immediately activated his trademark spell which gives an incredible speed boost, jumping sideways out of harm's way.

"**CONCEALING KICK!"**

Unfortunately, it was not enough. Still, it should not really come as a surprise. After all, the one Kiritsugu was facing was a Servant, and no matter how good or fast he was, there was no way he could match a Heroic Spirit.

And thus, despite his spell, Kiritsugu got hit full force, by the Servant's kick, in the face.

"DAMN YOU TO HELL, KIRITSUGU!"

And the last thing the Magus Killer saw was the Servant, who looked eerily like his wife, and who was supposed to be his tool for the Heaven's Feel, turning on him, its Master, glaring at him angrily, before the world turned black, and he knew no more.

**xxxXXXxxx**

Meanwhile, standing on the sidelines, having gone unnoticed since the force of the summoning knocked him sideways before the light complete dissipated, a tall man with tanned skin and white hair, whose name was Emiya Shirou, was staring blankly at the scene which unfolded before him, his eyes moving back and forth from his wife and then at his adoptive father, not knowing what to make of it.

Despite having spent years training in themateurgy, summoning a Servant, participated in the fifth and won the fifth Heaven's Fee, fought against the undead, vampires, Dead Apostles, terrorists, heretic magi, or anyone and anything that threatens mankind, almost dying countless times, he still found the situation hard to believe, sure that he was dreaming.

One pinch on the face, one Projection and then stabbing himself with a sword on the stump however, and he was sure that he was definitely not dreaming.

_Man that hurt!_ the recently retired hero of justice thought to himself.

Yes, he did not exactly know how it happened, but for some reason or another, probably something which had to do with a certain Dead Apostle Ancestor who uses the Second Magic (Kishua Zelretch: "Hey, I have absolutely nothing to do with this!") or the evil spirit that inhabited the destroyed Grail coming back with a vengeance(Angra Mainyu: "Don't look at me! It wasn't me either!"), he and his sister/wife had somehow found themselves summoned into the past, into the Fourth Holy Grail War.

And indeed, it was all confusing, and as of the moment, he was still in a turmoil of emotions, unable to react properly. Part of him was actually telling him to run to the man and hug him, for even though it had been years, even though he had gotten over it, he had honestly and sincerely missed the man who was his father.

However...

"You..."

Another part of him was telling NOT to act on his impulse, for if he did, he might end up hurting and upsetting the person who now meant the most to him in the world.

As well as himself. For in the crazed state she was in, having just had her most special day ruined, Shirou knew that it would be best not to get on her bad side.

"How dare you... RUIN MY WEDDING DAY!"

And the next moment, he was proven right.

In truth, at that point in time, Shirou, in all honesty, wanted to help his father. However, his instinct, which he had developed through the years, was screaming at him NOT to.

And so he contented himself with watching, After all, no matter how angry Ilya was, no matter how much hate she had harboured against her father, most of it, having learned of the truth, had now subsided, so it was unlikely that Ilya would kill him... at least not intentionally.

Still, if there was thing which Shirou learned from all this.

"**CONCEALING KICK!"**

Is that he should try and minimize the amount of time Ilya spends watching Anime. True, if his guess of what happened to them was correct, the series from which the move Ilya used came from still did not exist, but who knows, she might find another anime show and learn something even worse. Perhaps he could ask their cable provider, once they got back, to remove all channels except for news.

"DAMN YOU TO HELL, KIRITSUGU!"

For now, though...

"DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE!"

It was going to be a long, long, long conversation, that much he knew for sure, but for now, he will have to wait, wait, until his wife finally calms down, before he tries to settle things.

As he continued to watch his wife kick their father, whose head was pile drivered into a wall, in the arse, a small vindictive smirk found itself unconsciously appearing on Emiya Shirou's lips.

Much as Shirou did not want to admit it, but even though he loved and missed his father, there was a part of him, a small, barely noticeable part but was still there, that was furious at the man, for the exact same reason as Ilya was.

Ruining someone's honeymoon, after all, intentionally or unintentionally, was probably one of the shittiest things anyone can do, especially since he had been waiting ten years, ten long tiring years, to finally make love to the girl he loves.

Although when it comes right down to it, the anger which Ilya felt was probably much greater than the one which he held hidden in his heart. After all...

"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned,"mused Emiya Shirou to himself, not noticing the smirk which appeared on his lips as he finished saying those words.

**xxxXXXxxx**

**To be continued...**

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**AUTHOR'S NOTES**

Alright, this is the first chapter for my new fic, Fate: Zero Tranquility. Yeah, I know this is my first attempt at this kind of fic, and even though I don't intend for it to be completely crack, and will have some serious parts, I hope you enjoy reading it.

By the way, here are the Servant Stats:

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Servant: Saber

True Identity: Shirou Emiya

Alignment: Lawful Neutral

Strength: B

Endurance: A

Agility: A

Mana: C

Luck: A

Class Skills:

Magic Resistance: A

This stat, while normally low, is increased due to being summoned as a Saber Class. But if he severes his contract it will go back down to D.

Personal Skills:

Independent Action: EX

Due to being summoned as a living human yet getting boosts from the contract, he does not really need a Master to stay around and if he's not happy with his Master, he can just use Rule Breaker and forget about the war altogether, although the one rank stat boost he has from having a Master will disappear.

Riding: A+

In his life she has learned a lot about the technicalities of various machines such as cars, boats and airplanes.

Clairvoyance: C

Capable of keeping track of fast moving objects within a range of 4 kilometers.

Magecraft: D

Has mastery of Projection but is not adept on anything else.

Eyes of Mind: E-B

Capable of calm analysis of battle conditions even when in danger and deduce an appropriate course of action after considering all possibilities to escape from a predicament. So long there is even a 1% chance of a comeback, this ability greatly improves the chances of winning.

Noble Phantasm:

Unlimited Blade Works: E-A++ (EX if used simultaneously with Ilya)

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Servant: Caster

True identity: Ilyasveil Emiya

Alignment: Lawful Neutral

Strength: C

Endurance: C

Agility: A

Mana: A+

Luck: C

Class Skills:

Magic Resistance: E-?

Due to her status as a human, her magic resistance is the same as that of a human, although she can put herself in a constant state of leaking prana due to her near limitless supply, in which she can increase this skill depending on her ability to maintain it.

Personal Skills:

Independent Action: EX

Due to being summoned as a living human yet getting boosts from the contract, she does not really need a Master to stay around and if she's pissed, she can just use Rule Breaker and forget about the war altogether.

Riding: E-A+

In her life she has learned a lot about the technicalities of various machines such as cars, boats and airplanes. However, just like her mother, she has a reckless driving streak and a complete disregard for traffic rules.

Clairvoyance: C

Capable of keeping track of fast moving objects within a range of 4 kilometers.

Magecraft: B

Is considerably adept in Einzbern Magecraft as well as Projection which she got from Archer. However, she is only an expert in these branches and not a master of the others.

Eyes of Mind: E-B

Capable of calm analysis of battle conditions even when in danger and deduce an appropriate course of action after considering all possibilities to escape from a predicament. So long there is even a 1% chance of a comeback, this ability greatly improves the chances of winning.

Alchemy

Noble Phantasm:

Unlimited Blade Works: E-A++ (EX if used simultaneously with Shirou)

And like always, I hope you enjoy reading this chapter...

Later then, people...


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Fate/Stay Night or any of the Type-Moon Novels and am merely borrowing their ideas purely for entertainment purpose only.

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**Chapter 2: Flight and Resummoning  
**

BOOM

"Well, well, I wonder what he's up to this time?"

Inside of his private quarters in the largest of the series of castles that belonged to the Einzbern family which was located in the a hidden area in Germany, the head of said family, Jubstacheit von Einzbern, could not help but smirk to himself, as he took a sip from his cup of hot coffee, wondering what it was that exploded this time.

Normally, something like this would have Jubstacheit, known to his close associates (er, associate), as Acht, would have been infuriated, for the large bang signified that something was destroyed... again. Last time, or rather the last few... no, the previous _many, countless times_, when the person he was talking about was experimenting with his artillery, said person blew up an entire hill, as well as a portion of one of the castles.

However, it also happened that said person who had probably obliterated something in his castle was also the person who Acht trusted and respected greatly. True, the man would still bow before him when they talk face to face as formality, but overall, the head of Einzbern already considered the man as an equal.

And that man is none other than Emiya Kiritsugu, the Magus Killer.

Yes, the man, Acht knew, was dangerous, and was without a doubt a powerful force to reckon with. True, his prana output was only average, and when it comes to overall potential, other magi would undoubtedly be better than him, but when it comes right down it, it was only potential. And has been proven time and again, several of these potentially much more powerful magi had been killed, helpless, in the face of the infamous Magus Killer. For his tactical mind, was Emiya Kiritsugu's greatest weapon, which was why even those who were potentially more powerful than he was, had fallen easily to the infamous slayer of mages.

And it is for this particular reason that Acht decided to hire the man, to represent the Einzberns in the upcoming Holy Grail War. It had been nine years since then, and so far, things had been looking up, and he was not one bit disappointed that he had taken the man into his employ, as well as allowed him to marry into his family.

He wasn't disappointed.

Overall, Acht had already expected great things from the man. After a while since he entered, however, the old homunculus knew that he got more than what he bargained for.

The man, he had to admit, was brilliant. Since Kiritsugu was not held back my magus traditions and was willing to do anything to achieve his goals, Acht had learned and gleaned a great deal from him.

Before, Acht, being an alchemist, did not keep up with the times, and thus used old and traditional methods for conducting alchemical endeavours. Now, however, upon Kiritsugu's suggestion of using modern technological paraphernalla, his work in alchemy was making better progress.

Aside from that, with the use of said technological advances, things had become easier and comfortable for the old man, like the brewing machine inside of his room for example, was proof of that.

Yes, before, Acht had to scream loudly at his servants(not Heroic Spirits), the homunculi he created, to make coffee for him, and sometimes, even though some of them had been serving him for practically decades (Due to their state as homunculi, Acht's maids have very long lifespans, and while they might look twenty, they were actually decades older than that.), none of them ever seem to get the right combination of coffee, sugar and milk that suited his taste. Now, however, their help was no longer necessary, for all he had to do was set the coffee machine to the precise amount (just like in alchemy), and voala, he had instant coffee that tasted exaxtly like he wanted it to.

Aside from that, there was also the heater system, lighting system, and other things which Kiritsugu had installed in the castle during his nine years of stay which made life easier for Acht, and the inhabitants of the Einzbern territory as a whole. The technological advances, of course, would probably be hard on the electricity bill, but since they had an underground river as a source of hydroelectric power, it was easily remedied.

And as for any damage that was done by Kiritsugu's little trials, well, it was nothing xompared to the financial earnings that Jubstacheit managed to acquire by listening to the Magus Killer's advice. He was a mercenary, but at the same time, he was also quite skilled in business and politics. In fact, as far as Acht could tell, if Kiritsugu decided to focus on marketing and commercialization instead of winning the Holy Grail, the head of Einzbern was certain that the man had potential to become a financial powerhouse.

Yes, having the Magus Killer by his side had a lot of advantages, and had brought in a lot of benefits for the Einzbern family. And thus, Acht was confident, absolutely confident, in the man's abilities to win the Holy Grail, which was why he did not even bother to get out and see what was going on, for smoke and explosions were a normal part of everyday life with having Kiritsugu Emiya as part of the family.

"Damn you, you bastard..."

It was fortunate, really fortunate, that Acht had always had the reputation of wanting solitude, for it meant that no one would notice his change of habit. For unknown to anyone but Jubstacheit, however, the real reason why he did not bother to see what his son-in-law was up to was because...

"TAKE THAT, YOU ALIEN SCUM!"

The head of the Einzbern family was already at the boss level of a computer game he was playing, and if he were to choose between finishing the game or watching the Holy Grail completed.

Acht, in all honesty, was not sure which one he would choose anymore.

Technology always have advantages and disadvantages, and sadly, one of its setbacks is that if abused, it can cause the deterioration of even the most brilliant minds, slow though it may be.

And this abuse, more specifically game craze and addiction, that caused Acht's skill in alchemy to deteriorate.

And contrary to popular belief, one which was held to be true by most, that Acht had deliberately shortened the lifespan of his granddaughter, the truth is that he was simply out of practice, which caused him to make some mistakes in the chemicals and potions that he injected into said granddaughter.

Sure, the magus training was extremely painful, and in that alternate timeline, Acht did not expect his granddaughter to survive the Holy Grail War either, but even though that was the case, in the off-chance that unexpected circumstances arise, if his granddaughter did not participate in said war which he would not agree with, Acht would have expected said granddaughter to have a long life. After all, even if his granddaughter would be the vessel for the grail, if he wanted the Einzberns to win, he would need one which was strong and durable, not one which was easily vulnerable without the presence of a large giant of a Servant to protect her.

And people accused Jubstacheit von Einzbern of being a cruel grandfather. Well, he was cruel, considering that he had no qualms of throwing people out into the cold harsh Einzbern Forest Wilderness, but since he considered homunculi as useful tools, he always tried to make them as perfect as possible.

Though sadly, being a gamer had greatly diminished his abilities, both as a magi and as an alchemist... although he did get some good ideas from the magic-based computer games he played as well.

**xxxXXXxxx**

"Oh, Kiritsugu."

Meanwhile, in another room in the Einzbern Castle, a beautiful woman with silver hair and ruby red eyes was currently sitting beside a bed, with a worried look on her face, tears falling silently from her eyes, as she held the hand of her husband who was currently lying on it, unconscious.

It had been a few hours since then, and yet, even up to this point, the image of the horrific scene would not leave her mind, scaring her to no end.

In truth, the albino had no idea exactly what happened, or should have no idea about what happened, if not for one simple fact, the fact that Command Seals had appeared on her arm.

The plan had been fairly simple, one which she and Kiritsugu had already agreed upon. The Magus Killer, after all, had shared with Irisveil the different plans and courses of action which he had in mind for the war, and of course, after seeing the statistical success rate, his wife chose the one with the highest chance of success, and while Kiritsugu did not like her option, Irisveil, the devoted wife that she was, could not be deterred from her choice.

Irisveil, as their plan were to go, was to pretend to be a Master, and while Kiritsugu was secretly the real Master, the Servant would instead go with her. She would serve as the bait, while her husband plotted behind the scenes. Of course, due this was indeed advantageous in many points, for due to Irisveil's status as the vessel of the Grail, she was unlikely to be targeted directly, and would thus be the perfect decoy.

However, it seemed as if this plan would have to be modified. For unexpectedly enough, while was driving happily around the Einzbern Castle (since she got bored of watching husband, and for her driving was much more exciting than summoning a Servant) the Command Seals which signify a Master had appeared on Irisveil's right hand which, in the albino's opinion, was good news.

Not wasting any time, Irisveil immediately turned the car around and headed in the direction of the old chapel where her husband was doing his summoning, to bring him the good news, for it meant that instead of one, she and her husband would have two Servants, which would increase their chance of winning.

But just as she parked her car (crashed it into a lamp post), she heard a large explosion, and to her horror, the small church, in which she knew her husband was located, collapsed, burying the love of her life along with it.

And it was indeed a traumatic experience for the man's wife. She had thought he had died, that he was gone, and that her daughter would be left all alone, without parents. True, she managed to find him and pull him out later, but that did not comfort her in the slightest.

She had always known, ever since she had acquired enough knowledge and developed a sense of self thanks to Kiritsugu, that her husband had led a dangerous life, and in fact, she had seen movies which pretty much showed war, terrorism, bombings and the things which her husband had done and experienced.

However, seeing something happen like that in front of her, and to her own husband no less, was a completely different story, and it left her shaken. And now, more than ever, Irisveil was afraid, afraid, that her husband would die in the Holy Grail War, leaving their daughter, Ilya, not just without a mother, but also without a father. For Irisveil, was the intended container, veseel, for the Holy Grail, and therefore, was a sacrifice. Whether they win or lose, she would still perish in the end.

She had formed a number of theories in her mind of course. Being around the Magus Killer on a daily basis after all, Irisveil had picked up some of her husband's habit, as well as level of wit. And with the kind of damage that had been done, she had narrowed down her speculations to a few possible scenarios.

The first one of course, was the her husband's attempt at summoning a Servant had ended in failure, and the explosion came about as a result. It was only logical to assume so after all, since Kiritsugu had been drawing a magic circle near the altar of the church when Irisveil left. However, she knew that this was unlikely, and the other theory she had was much more plausible. And that theory, is that the ritual had somehow had succeeded, but instead of Kiritsugu summoning a Servant, he had summoned one for Irisveil.

And if that was the case, it would explain the appearance of the Command Seals on her arm, as well as the Servant's hostile move against her husband.

Yes, that was most likely what happened, for in truth, even though it was slight, just before the explosion, Irisveil had felt a large prana source, one which was not her husband, as well as a slight tug on her own prana reserves.

However, when she tried to see through her possible Servant's vision, using the knowledge of doing it from the memories of Justizia that had been implanted into her, she found that there was no one there.

Yet she had been so sure that there had been a connection, and that there had been someone at the other end of that connection, and thus Irisvail was puzzled, not sure what was going on anymore.

Still, despite what happened, Irisveil was just thankful that she managed to get her husband out of the rubble in time. His injuries had been severe, but being skilled with healing magic, she managed to fix him up in no time.

"Ugh."

And now, her husband was waking up.

"Good morning, Kiri. How are you feel..." Irisveil began, but her words of concern were cut off as her husband, Kiritsugu...

"AAARGH!"

...started screaming.

"But, Kiri..."

"GET AWAY FROM ME YOU-?!" the Magus Killer began screaming like a girl, but before he could anything else, Irisveil had placed a calming and sleeping spell on him.

Irisveil could not understand what was happening. She had known, having slept at the same bed as him for years, that her husband had Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome, and therefore, there were times, usually when he had a nightmare of the wars, skirmishes, and missions that he had gone through, when he would react unexpectedly. At some of these times, for no reason, Kiritsugu would suddenly jump from the bed and then roll to one side of the room, while point his gun at Irisveil's direction. At other times, especially when Irisveil tried to wake him up, he would grab her by the throat then aim his gun either at her head or at her heart.

This had diminished over the years of course, since Kiritsugu trusted Irisveil completely, and was eventually able to wake up normally as long as he was in her presence, but for some reason, because of the recent incident, his PSTD had come back.

And to make matters worse, it was the first time, in the almost nine years that they were together, that she had seen him this terrified and disoriented. Still...

"I guess I'll just wait for him to calm down," the woman sighed as she stood up and left the room to go check on Ilya.

Yes, Irisveil knew that this was probably the best course of action. Due to the _activities _which she and her husband engage in on a nightly basis, and sometimes, with Maiya joining them, they had thought it best, ever since Ilya had turned five, due to _very valid reasons_, to give her a separate room. And with Einzbern Castle being as large as it is, it really was not much of a problem.

Unfortunately for Irisveil, with the state that her husband was in at the moment, she certainly would not be getting _any _that night.

And given that in less than a month she would no longer be able to get _any_, it really was difficult for the homunculus to hide her frustration, not to mention the fact that they had not done it for almost a week since they had been really busy.

**xxxXXXxxx**

A week of not doing it, however, is nothing compared to ten years of not getting _any_... or to be more precise, an entire life of not yet getting_ any_.

And indeed, a certain retired hero, who went by the name Emiya Shirou, had to admit that it was not easy. Of course, he managed endured it, the humping urges he had as a man, for the love which he felt for Ilya was true, but that did not change the fact that it was difficult holding them in. In fact, at times, he thought he could hear a certain Counter Guardian laughing in the Throne of Heroes at his dilemma, since he suspected that his future self that will never be, who had lived by his ideals and by his ideals alone, had a lot of experience. (Heroic Spirit Emiya: "Let's see... Rin, Sakura, Luvia, Ciel, Touko, Aoko, Lorelei... damn, there's too many to count.").

Of course, that was no longer an issue for him, not anymore. For right after leaving the Einzbern Castle , he and his wife, had made love... all night long, in one of the most expensive hotels near the airport. . In fact, instead of envious, he was now thankful that he had acquired some of Archer's skills which was not about magecraft, for it greatly helped him and Ilya in that regard, and even though it was the first time for both of them, they enjoyed it greatly, both of them having had second-hand experience on the _activity_. The only part Shirou did not like was that Ilya, whose life had been saved from the combination of having Avalon implanted inside her and of Archer's Unlimited Blade Works assimilating with her, she attempted to use the memories she acquired to take the 'male role' of the 'ritual,' having even bought the proper paraphernalla to do so. Still, overall, things had gone well.

The situation they were in was not exactly the best time for them to be acting foolish, but since they were already married, which was the condition they had both agreed upon, not to mention the fact that they had both been waiting for years, there was no stopping them.

And indeed, the two of them had such a wonderful time, and it was enough for them to forget the gravity of the situation they were in, at least for a little while.

Now that he had gotten back some of his wit, however, as they started walking towards the airport, the retired hero started using his once again functioning brain, assessing their current predicament.

The Fourth Heaven's Feel. For some reason which he could only blame to either a certain Dead Apostle (Kishua Zelretch: "I already told you I have nothing to do with this!") messing with them or a certain vengeful spirit (Angra Mainyu: "How many times do I have to repeat myself? It wasn't me!") wanting revenge, or perhaps due to a certain female who uses the time magic (Aoko Aozaki: "What's the big idea trying to blame me for this mess? Blame your stupid father you idiot!"), they had been thrown back in time, summoned, as Servants, for said Holy Grail War.

Shirou, of course, had prior knowledge about this particular battle within Servants and mages. After all, his previous Servant (who later became Ilya's, but was then given a second shot at life by getting a mortal body, by using a puppet prepared by Touko Aozaki), Saber, the former King of Knights, had been a participant as well, and due to her special circumstances, retained all of her memories, and during their travels and Dead Apostle Hunts together, she had told Shirou a lot about this particular war, so the recently retired hero of justice pretty much had all the information on who were the Masters and Servants of the Fourth Heaven's Feel, at least as far as Arturia was concerned.

Sadly, he was not certain if this information would still be useful. For in the Grail War that he knew, it Saber, not Caster, who had been summoned by his father as a Servant, and in that Grail War, Irisveil von Einzbern, who is technically both his adoptive mother and mother-in-law, was not a Master.

Due to obvious reasons, neither he nor his wife were willing to be their Servants. Shirou may love his father, but he knew immediately that the Emiya Kiritsugu that had summoned them was not the same one who had saved him from the fire. He was Emiya Kiritsugu, the cold, heartless Magus Killer, not Emiya Kiritsugu, the kind man who saved and adopted him.

He knew of course that it was risky, but since he, having been a Master as well, had seen his own stats (since the ability to see Servant Stats remain with anyone who has become a Master even if they no longer are one), he and his wife Traced Rule Breaker and used it themselves. Well, it did cause their stats to go down before it completely disappeared from view, signifying that they have lost their Servant Status, but he did not mind, for they had managed to free themselves from forced servitude. He had hoped the perhaps it would have been enough for them to be reverse summoned, but apparently it did not work. They needed to find another way home.

Of course, neither he nor Ilya used the Noble Phantasm of the Witch of Betrayal to its full extent, and allowed their parents to keep their Command Spells. After all, even though neither of them wanted to be Servants, they did not want their parents to get into trouble with Jubstacheit, the head of the Einzbern family, who would see the loss of the Command Seals as a failure either. Destroying a chapel and leaving their father in the rubble may have been a bit excessive, but after Ilya explained the reason why it was necessary, Shirou had consented to her plan.

Acht may not be that strong in battle, but Shirou briefly remembered how the entire Einzbern property was blown sky high when Saber killed him in their timeline, apparently because of a self-destruct mechanism that was attached to his life.

And the former King of Knights, who despite retaining most of her powers, already possessed the body of a normal human only managed to survive by jumping into a pool of water before everything went to hell.

Yes, Emiya Shirou had a lot of things to think about indeed. For now though...

"Ilya, what do you think you're doing?" Shirou asked his wife in a quiet voice. Having been lost in his own thoughts, the retired (though soon to be coming out of it) hero of justice had barely been paying attention to where they were going, and had merely been following Ilya to wherever she was taking them. And now, a feeling of dread had brought him out of his thoughts back into reality.

"Flying of course," the silver-haired female replied cheerfully.

"Flying?" Shirou inquired, trying to hide the panic in his voice, as he realized that he and Ilya were in the pilot's cockpit of an airplane, with Ilya on the main controls.. "I thought we-"

"FUYUKI CITY, HERE WE GO!"

But whatever it was Shirou was about to say was lost, for in the next moment, Ilya, with a look of ecstacy and excitement (and insanity ) in her eyes, started the plane's engine, and soon enough, after a rough take-off, they were airborne.

"WEEEEE!"

"AAAARGH!"

And thus, the next few hours, completely forgetting about everything else, had been imprinted into the mind of Emiya Shirou, with both he and Ilya screaming, his wife because of sheer joy, while he, because of sheer terror.

_Like mother like daughter,_ thought the retired hero of justice to himself bitterly. He may not have known Irisveil personally, but based from the horror stories that he had heard from Arturia, there was no doubt that his wife had inherited her mother's driving streak.

And now, all he could do was pray, hope and pray, that they would have a safe landing.

**xxxXXXxxx**

"Shut (fill). Shut (fill). Shut (fill). Shut (fill). Shut (fill)."

"Repeat every five times."

"Simply, shatter once filled."

"――――I announce. "

Beck in the large castle which belonged to the Einzbern family, a man who was wearing a black suit and trench coat, who went by the name Emiya Kiritsugu, continued to look on emotionlessly (_Again?_), as the magic circle which he had drawn (_Again?_) on the floor of the fortress' chapel(_This isn't the same one._), started glowing (_Again?_), along with the catalyst in the middle which he would use to summon his Servant for the Holy Grail War: Avalon, the ultimate protection which belonged to the Once and Future King of England. He was going to summon King Arthur(_Again?_), who is believed by Acht, the head of the Einzberns, to be one of the most powerful Heroic Spirits.

And indeed, Kiritsugu Emiya believed that the old man was correct. King Arthur, the King of Knights, would undoubtedly be one of the most powerful Servants, who would also undoubtedly fit for the class Saber, which all masters knew, based from their natural stats, as well as the records of the first three Holy Grail Wars, to be the strongest of all classes. True, the master of Saber only once out of these three times, but Kiritsugu knew that in a war, there were other factors which could affect the outcome, strengths and weaknesses of masters, proper planning, the use of tactics, as well as... compatibility of Master and Servant, and it is for this particular reason that he could not help but feel worried. He may look calm and composed on the outside, but in reality, he was actually nervous on the inside.

Yes, he may be summoning the King of Knights, he may summoning the best Saber, he may be getting the best Servant as his familiar, but as far as he knew, all these advantages were useless if they cannot be utilized fully. True, he had already come up with a number of plans on how to utilize the Servant of the Sword for the War, but still, he was conflicted, and he actually wanted to summon a Servant that he could be comfortable with, preferably Assassin. The only reason why he had gone through with the plan was because there was also a decisive advantage in knowing who you are going to summon. Originally, he had been planning to summon a Servant without a catalyst, just like the winner of the Second Holy Grail War who, despite not summoning a well-known legend, managed to be victorious because he and his Servant were strikingly compatible. As Kiritsugu theorized, not using a catalyst meant that the Servant that would be summoned will be one that is best suited for the Master, since the Master himself would act as the catalyst.

For some reason the Magus Killer could not understand however, he could not help but get a feeling of déjà vu, as if he had already had these thoughts, as if he had already performed this ritual, as if it had already happened to him.

Out of the corner of his eye, Kiritsugu could see his wife, Irisveil, who had a worried look on her face. True, her presence was somewhat assuring, yet for some reason, there was a part of him, whenever she saw her face, that was instinctively telling him to run away screaming.

He had tried to hide it, but whenever his wife got at least two meters from him, he always had the impulse to jump backwards. He may have been able to control it, but the fact that he was trembling slightly whenever she touched him did not go unnoticed by his wife.

Perhaps this had something to do with the little accident he had? Kiritsugu had no memories of how it happened, but according to his wife, she had accidentally fired a missile from his rocket launcher at the chapel where he was in.

It was a lie, Kiritsugu knew. For while it was true that such an accident did happen before, he only knew his wife too well, having spent years together with her, to know that she was hiding something. Yes, she had told him enthusiastically that she too, had been chosen as a Master, but it was obvious that she was leaving out a lot of details.

In actuality, Kiritsugu was still conflicted at the moment, but he had already started the ritual, and there was no longer any turning back. This was not the time for him to be distracted by such thoughts. He would have to deal with this problem later, but for now, he had to focus on the task at hand.

"Your self is under me, my fate is in your sword."

"In accordance with the resort of the Holy Grail, if you abide by this feeling, this reason, then answer."

"Here is my oath. I am the one who becomes all the good of the world of the dead."

"I am the one who lays out all the evil of the world of the dead."

"You, seven heavens clad in three words of power, arrive from the ring of deterrence, O keeper of the balance――― !"

As he finished the incantation, the magic circle he had drawn erupted in a wave of bluish white light, engulfing the entire area in a bright white light.

Still, everything had been thought of, everything had been going according plan. True, using Avalon as a catalyst may not have been his preferred course of action, but even still, he had already come up with several scenarios, simulations, and statistical predictions on how to make the best of King Arthur's abilities. And now that Irisveil had also been chosen as a Master, it would certainly make things better. Having two Servants, after all, was undoubtedly a decisive advantage.

Soon the light slowly began fading, and when it did...

Kiritsugu could not help but feel disappointed.

For in front of him, without a doubt was the King of Knights. With the knightly armor that was worn, the outrageous amount of prana that was possessed, and the Holy Sword that had a powerful and unworldly which was undoubtedly Excalibur, there was no mistake. However, the one who possessed these, the one who had these powerful aura...

...was a girl...

Yes, Kiritsugu was disappointed, very much so. For he knew, he guessed, what had happened. He did not need to be there in person or to be aware of all the details to guess how a girl had come to be the Once and Future King of England.

And he was not happy about what he guessed, not one bit.

"I am the Servant Saber. I have come in response to your summons. I ask of you, are you my Master?"

He knew that the girl would obey him, that much Kiritsugu could tell. She was a knight after all, and she was thus bound by honor. However, he found it hard to accept her. He could not accept her.

Perhaps, once Irisveil summoned her Servant, he could swap Servants with her?

Still, he decided to at least go with formalities. He would reaffirm her question to bind the contract. After that, however, he was going to leave everything to Irisveil. He knew it was selfish, but she would have to act as a mediator between them, for he simply could not bring himself to talk directly to the female King of Knights.

Clearing his throat, Kiritsugu was just about to give his response to the Servant's question when...

?

With a swift motion, as if she had sensed something, the female Servant had jumped away from the magic circle, which had once again begun glowing.

"What is this?" Kiritsugu heard a female voice, belonging to his recently summoned Servant, mutter in surprise, as she stood in front of him, her Master, in a defensive stance.

Soon, the room was once again engulfed with a bright light, and when it finally dissipated.

?!

_The hell? _Kiritsugu cursed in his thoughts, unable to comprehend what was happening. From behind him, out of the corner of his eye, he saw his wife putting her hand over her mouth, with a look of shock on her face, while the Servant he had summoned raised her golden sword, which was soon wrapped in wind and became invisible, moving into a battle ready stance.

Yes, it was only natural for them to react in that way after all.

In truth, Kiritsugu had heard about it, about how the Edelfelt sisters in the previous wars had summoned, due to being twins, two identical Sabers as their Servants.

However, never would Kiritsugu have thought that the same incident would happen again, at least not in the Fourth Heaven's Feel.

"No way..."

And yet, it has happened, and to him and Irisveil of all people. For some reason or another. Perhaps it was because he and his wife Irisveil shared a strong bond, perhaps it was because of Avalon, maybe it was because there are varying legends about the King of Knights, yet regardless of the reason.

They had somehow managed to summon two identical Servants.

"You..."

?!

Although, as the Magus Killer saw the hatred directed at him in the second Servant's eyes, he was not sure if it was for the better.

**xxxXXXxxx**

**To be continued...**

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES**

Alright, another chapter out. Now, I have seen some of your reviews, and yes, I believe that I should make some adjustment for the Servant Stats, so I will have to do some edits. Also, as I think you've noticed, there are two new Servants I've added, so to my readers, I would like to ask for your help, comments, and suggestions for the Servant Stats. You may post them in the reviews if you like.

I will not be posting the Shirou/Ilya stats here again, since it's already in the previous chapter, but once it's finalized I will post in the chapter when I've finalized it it, and like I said, I am welcoming your suggestions. Mind you, since they are no longer Servants, I would also need your help and suggestions for their normal stats in Servant terms. Your help is highly appreciated.

Anyway, here's my idea for the next two Servants.

* * *

Servant: Saber

True Name: Arturia Pendragon

Master: Emiya Kiritsugu

Stats: Same as canon.

Noble Phantasm: Same as canon.

* * *

Servant: Assassin

True Name: Arturia Pendragon

Master: Irisveil von Einzbern

Class Skills:

Presence Concealment: A+

Able to hide her presence completely. However, this value goes down once she reveals herself.

Personal Skills:

Ninjutsu

Due to constant viewing of anime with Ilya, Arturia had somehow learned to use her high level of magic energy from her dragon blood to perform techniques from a certain Anime.

(Details will be revealed in the next chapter after the confrontation.)

Noble Phantasm: Same as Saber Canon (with some changes and additions that will be revealed next chapter.).

* * *

But enough about that...

And like always, I hope you enjoy reading this chapter...

Later then, people...


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Fate/Stay Night or any of the Type-Moon Novels, as well as the ideas from plenty of other anime like Naruto, and am merely borrowing their ideas purely for entertainment purpose only.

* * *

**Chapter 3: Servant Assassin (?)  
**

"What in the world is going on?"

Inside of his room in Kotomine Church, which was located on a hill which is an hour's walk from Miyaman, an old, white-haired, yet muscular old man, was looking at two of the seven cards on his table, with a dumbfounded look on his face.

Being the mediator of the Holy Grail War (although since he was discreetly cooperating with Tohsaka he was obviously biased and unfit for the role), one of the abilities that was granted to the priest was the ability to sense and know which Servants were summoned. True, he did not have access to their identities, skills, as well as the identities of their Masters, but he would know which Servant Classes had been summoned and already active, as well as if there was a change or substitution of the Classes.

And it was because of this ability that had been granted to him by being the mediator of the Holy Grail War that the old priest found out something which made him feel very uneasy.

The day before, Risei had been sure that six of the seven Servant Classes had been summoned. Assassin, naturally had already been summoned a few days prior by his son, Kirei, while the other five had been summoned at around the same time, give or take a few minutes' and hours' difference.

A couple of hours before, however, when he had woken up for his morning exercise, Risei could not help but notice that instead of six filled cards, two of them had once again been blank, indicating that only four Servants had been summoned. For if a Servant had been killed, the card which represented them would have burned.

Was he just hallucinating? Was it because he was drunk? Since he had been drinking(With Kirei staying secretly at the Tohsaka mansion, Risei had the chance to do what he wanted without ruining his image to his son.) the night before, that was certainly possible.

However, he was sober now, and therefore was once again thinking rationally, and yet he was puzzled.

Given the Class of the Servants that had already been summoned, he had expected that Saber would definitely appear. His son, Kirei had summoned Assassin, their ally Tokiomi had summoned Archer, the Matou summoned Berseker, and two of the other Masters had summoned either Rider or Lancer.

Given that five Servant Classes had already been taken, Risei assumed that the last two to be summoned would either be Saber, Caster, or based from what happened in the last War, Avenger. Well, he had been right about one, since Saber had indeed been summoned.

However...

"Another Assassin?" the old priest muttered in disbelief, as he stared at the two identical cards which he now held in his hand.

Yes, in the past wars, there had been an case when two Servants of the same class has been summoned. However, that was only because of the special circumstances that surrounded the Masters who summoned them, as they happened to be genetically identical twins.

Now, however, it seems as if history repeated itself..

Having had a spy network of his own, as well as the information that was shared with him by Tokiomi, Risei was aware of the identity of five out of the seven Masters.

Which is why the old priest could not help but feel worried and disturbed.

The Holy Grail War, as Risei had always known, despite whatever flowery words are used, despite being only between seven mages and servants, was still a war, and as the saying goes, 'all is fair in love and war.'

And unfortunately for them, there was one such participant in the Fourth Heaven's Feel, who was an expert at war, for he was not held back by traditions or the pride of a magus, which was the weakness of most magi. And that man...

...was Emiya Kiritsugu.

Risei did not know exactly how they did it, but the priest had no doubt that only the Magus Killer could have summoned an Assassin even after said Class had already been taken.

"Hello, Kirei?" Risei greeted his son, as he held the jewel, which Tohsaka Tokiomi had given them to aid in their communication.

"_Yes, father?"_ the priest's son inquired through the medium.

"There has been an unexpected development."

Perhaps it was by chance? Perhaps it was because just like in the previous War, the Einzberns used a loophole in the Grail System to allow their representative to summon the Servant he wanted. Either way, however it happened, if his suspicions were correct, that the Magus Killer was the one who summoned the other Assassin, Risei knew that things were going to be difficult, much more for difficult for them.

Assassin was not exactly the strongest of the seven Servant Classes, but if he was partnered with someone who uses similar methods and could thus utilize the Servant's abilities to its fullest like the Magus Killer.

It would without a doubt, make them a very dangerous pair indeed.

**xxxXXXxxx**

Meanwhile, inside of the chapel in the Einzbern Castle, the cause of the priest's dilemma was currently suffering a dilemma of her own.

In the past, Arturia had to admit that she did not really care too much about the taste of the food she eats. As long as it was edible, even if it was roughly made, it was acceptable. And given that they had from time to time stayed in the wilderness during the missions and dangers that they had been through that would comparable or even more dangerous than the Holy Grail War (as well as her own experiences during her life as a King), the former King of Knights was used to eating just about anything that could be eaten, even grass or tree bark, even if she did not like it.

However, even though she did find it tolerable, Arturia had developed a rather acute sense of taste, and could now judge the quality of the meal that she eats.

Sadly, with regards to be the meal that had been served during Shirou and Ilya's wedding, she had been disappointed, for the quality of the dishes that had been served, at least in her opinion, were poorly made and below standard.

Having lived and travelled together with Shirou and Ilya for the past few years, viewing Shirou as someone like a brother and Ilya like a little sister(although according to them, she acted more like a mother), Arturia Pendragon, the former King of Knights, had actually managed to acquire one of her former Master's skills, which happened to be cooking, and not that she was boasting, but the former King of Knights had actually managed to surpass Shirou when it comes to making fine dishes.

And it was for this very reason that she was very angry at the moment. Not satisfied with the meal they had eaten at the reception, Arturia, with Taiga tagging along with her, had gone back to the Emiya household, so that they could satiate their disappointment. She knew of course, that neither of the newly weds would be around, but it didn't matter. After all, the two rented a private boat, and Arturia believed that they deserved the time alone by themselves.

Just as she was about to sample some of the curry she was cooking into her mouth to appease her desperately longing taste buds, it happened, the familiar sensation of getting summoned, which she never thought she would experience again.

Except unlike last time, when she willingly answered the call, this time, she was forced against her will. But no matter how hard she tried, having been caught completely off guard, there was nothing she could do to reject the pull.

For at this point time, Arturia Pendragon was already happy with her life, having moved on without regret and let go of her wish to redo the past, and was now moving forward. She no longer had any desire for the Holy Grail, not even the real one, and had thus nullified her upcoming contract with the world.

And yet, she presently found herself standing in the middle of the familiar magic circle. However, that was not all.

She already knew of course, that someone had summoned her. Even without Avalon (since it was currently implanted inside Ilya's body), unlikely though it may be, as it seemed that the world still wanted to screw with her and considered her as Servant material, Arturia could still be summoned. After all, there were other things that could be used as a catalyst to summon her, like a fragment from her broken sword Caliburn if it still existed, or even a piece of wood from the Round Table, if the Master's nature was compatible to the Servant.

And yet, when the light finally faded, despite all that she had been through, she had found it hard to believe what she was seeing. For the first thing she saw she had regained her vision...

...was herself.

Or rather, her past self.

"What is this?" her dopple ganger muttered.

"No way..."

Arturia froze. For a moment, she was not sure of what she should do next.

"You..."

Having surveyed the place where she was in, the former King of Knights no longer had any doubt as to what happened to her. She, for whatever reason that probably (Kishua Zelretch: "I hope no one's going to pull that bull crap of blaming me again."), that it happened, had somehow been summoned once again as a participant of the Fourth Heaven's Feel.

And indeed it was irritating. Part of her was furious, was screaming at her, to beat the crap out of the man who, while she had already forgiven said man for betraying, knowing the true reason behind his betrayal, summoned her away from her dinner, which, in Arturia's opinion, was almost as bad as using two Command Seals on her to destroy the Holy Grail without even giving an explanation.

However, as she looked to the man's left, where a familiar woman with silver hair was standing, Arturia felt her rage vanish, and her gaze softened.

_Irisviel,_ thought the former King of Knights to herself, as her heart was filled with emotion.

For here was the woman who she had sworn to protect, yet she had failed to keep her promise. The woman, who was the mother of the girl who Arturia had come to love as a younger sibling.

She may be in another world or dimension, and even if she changed things here it might not change the future where she came from. But even still, even if that was the case, she now had a chance to rectify her mistakes while she tried to find a way back home to the present, to the people who had become her family.

"Who are you?"

Arturia blinked. She had almost forgotten that _another version_ of _herself _was also present, and for a fleeting moment, she could not help but feel the urge to smack _herself_ in the head. Here was the girl who had foolishly tried, although managed to do her best to lead the people of Britain, yet even more foolishly wanted to redo the past. Well, technically, she herself was planning to do the same thing with the Heaven's Feel, but that was different, and Arturia could not help but dislike _herself._ And from the look in her other self's eyes, it was apparent that the feeling was mutual.

_Is this how Shirou and Archer felt about each other?_ Arturia thought with a frown, remembering how the past and future self of Emiya Shirou hardly got along, even if they did reconcile in the end. _No, this is not the time to be thinking about such trivial matters._

Having experienced it once before, Arturia pretty much had a lot of information about the Fourth Grail War. However, she decided that she would keep them to herself for the time being.

For unfortunately, due to the possible differences this world might have, she was not sure how much of them would be useful, not to mention... another version of herself was present.

_Should I tell them my real name?_ Arturia contemplated for a second, and decided that it would be for the best if they did not know. Still...

_I wonder what name I should use? _the King of Knights mused herself...

..._Ah, I know!_

And thus, Arturia decided that impersonating her favourite character in one of her favourite animes was indeed the best course of action. After all, even if she and her past self looked identical, the way they dressed was different. While her counterpart wore her traditional silver armour, she, out of habit, had gotten used to wearing modern day clothing, although for some reason, she had acquired the habit of wearing a black cloak with a red cloud design over her normal clothes.

Not to mention, that she did not have Excalibur out in the open, having sealed it inside her clothes, as well as the fact that she had won an international cosplay competition a few years back by cosplaying as that particular character. Also, she knew the fictional character's mind well enough, having watched the particular series several times over.

Aside from that she had also gotten a grasp of the nature of her other favourite characters, and when it comes to trying to pull off a different persona that may involve a bit from each one of them, the former King of Knights was sure that she would succeed.

After all, even if Kiritsugu the tactician was unconsciously and unknowingly following the ninja rule of 'look underneath the underneath,' with the level of emotional control that Arturia had reached, for her mask to be discovered, the Magus Killer would have to dig even deeper than that.

All of these thoughts the former King of Knights processed in a few seconds.

Completely dropping her hostility, the former King of Knights placed a serene smile on her face, as she prepared to address the people in the chapel.

"I am Namikaze Minato, the Servant Assassin for this Holy Grail War. I have come in response to your summons. Now, I ask of you, which one of you is my Master?"

**xxxXXXxxx**

It was nine o'clock in the morning, and at the moment, three individuals, two Masters and one Servant (since the other Servant was not allowed to join the meeting), were busy discussing their plans for the Holy Grail War which they would soon be participating in. And so far, as far as Kiritsugu was concerned, things had been going at least well enough.

A couple of days before, during the summoning, there had been some tension between the two Servants that had been summoned, owing to the fact that Servants, due to the fact that only one of them was meant to survive at the end, are, naturally, supposed to be enemies. However, due to special circumstances, namely their Masters being a married couple, the two Servants had made peace, at least for the time being.

Saber, the Servant of the Sword, was understandably unhappy with the situation, and in fact, she had been ready to attack Assassin the second Servant had been summoned. Not that Kiritsugu cared about what she felt of course, given the resentment and disappointment he felt, having finally understood the Arthurian Legend, but if she did attack and one of the Servants died, they would have lost the decisive advantage of having two Heroic Spirits fighting for them. Fortunately enough, the King of Knights managed to control herself, and had remained silent about the issue.

For Assassin himself admitted that he did not really have a wish, and declared that should the time come that only he and Saber were the last Servants standing, he would consent to letting Saber grant her wish, since he did not have one of his own.

At least that was according to him, for while Kiritsugu could not detect any lie in his words, the Magus Killer believed that Assassin only said this to calm down the nerves of his Servant, which somehow worked.

And speaking of Assassin, the man with a girlish face was a different issue altogether. She... no, he was a factor that was difficult to decipher. The Magus Killer had to admit that he was surprised at first, given the striking resemblance between the two Servants, but now that he had gotten to know him a bit better, Kiritsugu was almost completely convinced that there was hardly any connection between the two Servants they had summoned at all.

Well, almost completely convinced was the term, since the resemblance between the two, save for the fact that Assassin was about a head taller than Saber as well as had shorter hair (which, unlike during the time he was summoned, was currently spiky, probably due to some form of gel he was using) were too close for it to be mere coincidence, but the moment that Assassin told them his name and a bit of his background, the Magus Killer believed him, and only a small lingering doubt remained. And when his Servant Saber warned him through their mental connection that Assassin could be her son Mordred (however it was possible for the female to have been a father the Magus Killer did not care) the Knight of Betrayal, he merely brushed it off and ignored her before he completely cut off the connection, only allowing the prana one to remain.

After all, what were the chances that a knight would not be wearing armour and instead wore an obviously Japanese cloak and a head protector, carried kunai and shuriken which were Japanese weapons, and used explosive tags with Japanese characters on them? Not to mention, after a while of observing the man move, even the King of Knights herself admitted that she _might_ be mistaken, not that Kiritsugu cared anyway.

Namikaze Minato, it was a name which the Magus Killer was unfamiliar with. According to his wife's Servant, he was a ninja, a ninja, who fought and died for his village. He did not, as Kiritsugu expected, go through much details of his life, and he seemed to be keeping some (or most) of his abilities undisclosed, which was understandable. Even though they were allies, even though Kiritsugu and Irisviel were married, Assassin's loyalty of course, lies first and foremost with the Magus Killer's wife, and he was probably hiding tricks up his sleeve in preparation for confronting Saber in the future. Kiritsugu may have been _almost _convinced that Assassin would not kill him, attributing his initial hostility to the presence of another Servant.

However, the Magus Killer was almost one hundred percent sure that if the time comes that only Assassin and Saber remained, the Servant of Stealth would undoubtedly go back on his words, although like always, almost is the word. Much as Kiritsugu hated to admit, but for some reason, he is unable to read Assassin, whose true emotions seemed hidden too well under his falsely cheery persona, and he had to admit that the Servant scared him.

For Assassin, in a sense, was similar to Kotomine Kirei, one of their enemy Masters, whose motives and reason for fighting was unknown. And an enigma, as far as the Magus Killer was concerned, something he could not understand, was extremely dangerous.

_I cannot detect any signs of deception, but still, since he's Assassin..._

Aside from that, Kiritsugu had the inkling suspicion that Assassin was summoned with the Magus Killer, in other words he himself, as the catalyst, and thus should have ended up as his Servant, but because of some unexpected glitches, ended up as Irisviel's instead. Kiritsugu was sure that things would have been much simpler if the Servant of Stealth went to him instead.

In fact, the Magus Killer actually wanted to suggest that they switch Servants, but he had been afraid that Assassin might come to believe that there was an ulterior motive behind it, so he decided not to speak his mind about it.

Still, whatever the case, whatever their circumstances, it did not matter to Kiritsugu. He would have to do some research on Assassin's background, but when it comes right down to it, all that mattered in the end was that they win the Holy Grail War, so he would be able to grant his wish of saving everyone. Much as Assassin unnerved him, the Servant had in a way gained Kiritsugu's respect, and thus the Magus Killer decided to just grit his teeth and bear with the discomfort he felt. After all, Assassin had so far been proving to be cooperative, and as far as Kiritsugu was concerned, would be much more useful and valuable than the Servant of the Sword would ever be.

"...I disagree. Your plan has too many flaws." The Servant of Stealth stated in a monotonous tone.

"Would you mind sharing with us what it is you have in mind, Assassin?" The Magus Killer inquired of his wife's Servant.

Said Servant, now getting the attention of everyone in the room, lifted up his cup, sipped some tea and placed it back on the table, before he began in a calm voice.

"If the information you have provided is correct, then using my Master as bait is too risky. The Matou and Tohsaka, and perhaps by extension Kotomine Kirei, being intrinsically involved, and Kayneth Archibald, being a member of the Clock Tower, probably know the purpose she serves and would probably not harm her. But what about the other two? If one of them, not knowing the role she would play, targets her and manages to kill her, then the Holy Grail would not appear properly, and the summoning would once again end up in failure."

"So what do you suggest we should do then, Assassin?" The Magus Killer inquired of the Servant of Stealth calmly. On the inside, however, he was actually feeling shocked and impressed at the Servant's knowledge and insights. He may have shared information with Assassin, but his wife's status as the Grail's vessel was not among it.

_How did Assassin know about that?!_

Kiritsugu looked to his side and saw that Irisviel was wearing a surprised expression on her face. _She had not told him about it._

"I will not object if you intend to push through with this plan. However, in case of a worst case scenario, I believe it would be best if we have another faux vessel or two available on standby. There are plenty of other Einzbern homunculi here to choose from are there not?"

At this, the Magus Killer could barely keep the neutral expression on his face, as he realized that Assassin was staring at him straight in the eyes.

"...or better yet, it would be better if Irisviel would only have to act as the vessel as a last resort. She is my Master after all, and I have promised to protect her to the end." The Servant of Stealth finished.

An eerie silence passed, and the air in the room had become so tense, that it would have been possible to slash through it with a knife.

"I'm afraid that isn't an option, Assassin." This time it was the silver-haired homunculus who spoke up, wearing a sad smile on her face. "It is true that all of us homunculi had been created primarily to serve as the vessel for the Grail. However, as of the moment, I am the only one in existence who can qualify for the task."

"I see..." the Servant of Stealth said after a while. "If that is what you wish for, Master, then I have no choice but to comply. That is what I am here for after all. To help you achieve what it is that you desire."

"Thank you for understanding."

There was no hostility coming from Assassin. However, as Kiritsugu could not help but notice, the man had a dazed expression, as if his mind was wandering elsewhere.

"Anyway, Assassin," the Magus Killer began. "How did you-?!"

"MAMA! PAPA!"

But Kiritsugu was interrupted, as a small creature, which looked like a chibified version of Irisviel entered the room, climbing up the sofa before settling itself between the two Masters. It was their daughter, Ilyasviel.

"Well, I suppose we should continue our discussion for some other time then," the Servant of Stealth said with a chuckle. "If you'll excuse me."

And with that, Assassin disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

The Magus Killer could not help but frown in his thoughts. There were still so many things which he still wanted to ask the Servant.

"COME ON! LET'S PLAY!"

However, as he looked at the small bundle of joy that was now using his lap as a ramp, he knew that he would have to put if off for later. After all, even if he would not admit it to himself, in his heart, for the Magus Killer, spending his time with his family was much more important than any piece of information.

And with the Grail War looming over them, with the role that Irisviel had to play, the time that the three of them spent together was something they would cherish forever, as after the War, they would never be able to have such a time together again.

Unknown to the Magus Killer, however, standing on top of a tree, the Servant of Stealth was watching them, feeling a mixture of sadness and amusement, unable to keep herself from praising herself in her thoughts for her performance. _Am I a great acto- I mean, actress or what?_

"Phase one complete," 'Namikaze Minato' stated quietly, promising 'himself,' that 'he' would not let what happened before come to pass.

"Commencing with phase two..."

(Meanwhile, somewhere in the Einzbern Castle, a certain someone was secretly sulking at being completely ignored.)

**xxxXXXxxx**

Ryuunosuke Uryuu was not having a good day. The night before, having found an old family book that supposedly contained a ritual for summoning demons, the psychotic killer, ecstatic at the thought of summoning something 'cool,' tried to perform the ritual, only to find out that it was a dud. Well, considering that it was supposed to be a magic book, with Ryuunosuke himself not believing in magic, he should not have expected much, but still, it was frustrating.

He was a killer, a murderer, and the number of people he had killed... well, he had honestly lost count. Well, he was not exactly evil, at least from his own point of view, and the reason why he had always been murdering and slaughtering people, always looking for more amusing ways to cause death, was because he found death amusing.

As well as the fact that he wanted to understand and fully comprehend the process and concept of death and dying.

In another reality, Ryuunosuke Uryuu would have become a Master in the Holy Grail War, and would have had the time of his life. He did perish in the end, but before he did, he and his Servant Caster had a lot of fun murdering innocent and helpless children, in the most 'artistic' ways possible.

But the best part of all, was that he himself was killed. For Ryuunosuke found it fulfilling, exciting, the fact that he had been shot and was bleeding to death, giving him the greatest joy and ecstacy he had ever had in his life. It was only for a few moments, but the moment of his own death was the moment Ryuunosuke Uryuu enjoyed the most, even more than watching the giant hideous monster which Caster created wreak havoc.

Unfortunately for the serial killer, he would not be blessed with the fun and beautiful death that his alternate self experienced. For as luck would have it, just as he was walking in the direction of the house of his next victims...

"Aaalalalalalalaie!"

He was dead. Yes, Ryuunosuke Uryuu had died. Normally, to one with a twisted mind as his, his own death would have brought him immense joy. Sadly, however, with lightning being the cause of this death, he never even had time to feel the joy of the pain of dying, and he was dead before he even realized it, an unexpected, unfulfilling death.

It certainly was not his day.

"What have you done, you moron?!"

"Ooops. I didn't see him there."

Meanwhile, the ones responsible for the death of the serial killer could only look on in slight surprise and irritation. Well, they were slightly emotionally affected, seeing as both Servant and Master believed that their chariot had run over and electrocuted an innocent bystander, but since they did not know who the stranger was, that was the extent of it. And before long, the man's body was once again struck by lightning, igniting it into flames, burning it until nothing, not even ashes, remained, leaving only a few, barely noticeable scorch marks on the ground.

"May you rest in peace, whoever you are..." muttered Waver Velvet in silent prayer, as he and his Servant flew away from the scene with their flying chariot.

He had never sensed it. He had never seen it coming. But worst of all, he had not felt it. He had not experienced the pain, the sensation, of his own death.

And for someone like Ryuunosuke Uryuu, it was one of the worst tragedies that could ever happen to him.

**xxxXXXxxx**

**To be continued...**

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES**

Alright, another chapter out. Now, as promised, here is the Servant Stats for Assassin. If you have any additional suggestions, feel free to pm me or post them in the reviews.

* * *

Servant: Assassin

True Name: Arturia Pendragon (Pretending to be male and hiding under the false name 'Namikaze Minato')

Master: Irisviel von Einzbern

Stats

Strength: D-A

Endurance: D-A

Agility: D-A (A++ for instant bursts)

Mana: D-A+

Luck: D-A

Class Skills

Presence Concealment: A+

Able to hide her presence completely. However, this drops greatly if she reveals herself.

Personal Skills

Magic Resistance: A

Due to her mastery of dragon blood, Arturia has reached a very high level of magical resistance. Will drop to B if Servant Contract is dropped.

Independent Action: EX

Due to being summoned as a human, she can exist indefinitely and if the Command Seals are consumed, she can stick around like any other human, without danger of disappearing.

Hidden Talent: N/A

Due to her training in various fighting arts (some copied from the anime she watched), Arturia has learned the ability to mask her true abilities, which makes it difficult for enemies, as well as her own Master, to know the full extent of what she can do.

Charisma: E-A++

Depending on her mood, this ability changes level.

Riding: B-A++(?)

Rumours has it that Arturia had somehow managed to tame and ride a dragon. Her ability to drive modern vehicles, boats and airplanes (as well as space shuttles), however, is unquestionable.

Ninjutsu:

Due to constantly watching anime, Arturia has developed a wide range of skills and techniques, many of which were based from one particular anime, by taking full advantage of her dragon blood.

Wind Element Techniques (Will be revealed as they are used.)

Water Element Techniques (Will be revealed as they are used.)

Lightning Element Techniques (Will be revealed as they are used.)

Ice Element Techniques (Will be revealed as they are used.)

Sealing Techniques

Note that some of these techniques are at a level that can match Noble Phantasms.

Noble Phantasm:

Excalibur: A++

(?): A++ (will be revealed once used.)

* * *

But enough about that...

And like always, I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter...

Later then, people...


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Fate/Stay Night or any of the Type-Moon Novels, as well as the ideas from plenty of other anime like Naruto, as well as movies, novels, manga, etc. and am merely borrowing their ideas purely for entertainment purpose only.

* * *

**Chapter 4: Stranded  
**

"I DID IT! I DID IT! I DID IT! WHOOPIE!"

Jubstacheit von Einzbern, the head of the Einzbern family, was having the time of his life. After days and hours of relentless effort, he had finally done it, he had finally succeeded in his endeavour. And the old man was dancing and skipping around his room in elation like a little girl (he may be old, but given that he is a homunculus, his motor skills and reflexes have not waned.).

It certainly was not easy, the task which he had at hand, and he had to admit, it was just as, or even more difficult than studying and creating alchemical formulas or magecraft. He spent days without sleep, as he continued with his important task, stopping only to eat and drink coffee. He may be a perfect homunculus, so lack of sleep was not necessarily an issue, but even someone like him would die without getting eating food and getting the proper nourishment.

Still, his efforts had paid off, and now, he had accomplished his task. After relentless, painstaking effort, he had finally succeeded.

Well, almost succeeded.

Jubstacheit von Einzbern had without a doubt succeeded in his quest. Unfortunately, just as he had accomplished his task...

"NOOOO! WHY THE HECK DID THE POWER HAVE TO FAIL AT SUCH A CRUCIAL MOMENT?!" The head of the Einzbern family screamed like a little girl, the monitor of the computer smashed by the keyboard which Acht had previously hed in his hand, as the old man started throwing a tantrum.

... a blackout occurred, and he had forgotten to save the game. Normally, this would not have been a problem for Acht, since it was his habit to save his game every thirty minutes or so. Sadly, however, due to a combination of excitement and engrossment at nearing the end of the game, the old head of the Einzbern family had forgotten to do this simple, yet crucial duty. And thus, he was back to square one. It was only one quest, one measly quest, yet due to it being the final one, it was much more difficult, time consuming and painstaking than any of the other levels put together.

"DAMN IT! DAMN IT! DAMN IT!"

And thus, the old man continued with his fit, howling in fury, as chairs, and tables were sent flying in all directions. With the state that the head of the Einzbern family was in, it can be said that it was really fortunate that the form of magecraft he used was not fit for battle and the most destructive ones required intense concentration. Had it not been for the fact that a special spell was cast on the room, which allowed sound from the outside to be heard but did not allow noise from the inside to be heard outside (since Acht did not want anyone to know about his little hobby), his screams would have been all throughout the Castle and would have probably caused widespread panic.

"DAMN IT! WHY THE HELL DID I NOT INSTALL A U.P.S. LIKE KIRITSUGU SUGGESTED?!" Jubstacheit screamed.

And thus, in the pained and agonized state he was in, Jubstacheit forgot that it has been four years since the last power outage occurred in the Castle, the electricity generation system having been brought to a level that it would have been impossible for such an incident to happen, which was exactly the reason why he did not find it necessary to have an Uninterrupted Power Supply in the first place.

Nor did he realize that the only way for the power to be cut off is if someone is deliberately messing with the connections.

**xxxXXXxxx**

"Phase two complete."

Unknown to old man Acht, when he was proceeding with his temper tantrum and continuing to wreck his room, the one responsible for the power outage and thus his tragic gaming experience had actually been in the same room with him, blending 'himself', or rather, herself perfectly, with one of the walls. Given her level of presence concealment, coupled with her own natural techniques that were on par with that, it was no surprise that Servant Assassin, Arturia Pendragon, currently hiding under the name Minato Namikaze, had been able to enter and leave without detection.

Presently, she was wearing her Cloak of Air, which was a technique using the similar concept she had used to hide her sword Excalibur in the past, making her completely invisible, while she stood outside, guarding the door of her Master's, Irisviel's bedroom, who, as she had just checked by gently opening the door and closing it, was currently sleeping peacefully, while her husband, Kiritsugu was still up, fiddling with his laptop, making plans for the upcoming War. Yes, she still felt a bit of resentment towards the man, but she could not help but admire the man's ability to adapt quickly to changes. It had only been a few days since she had summoned, yet despite this fact, the Magus Killer had already managed to come up with a number of plans to accommodate the presence of an additional Servant, all of which of course were aimed for victory.

Back to the issue of the Einzbern family head, however, Arturia's real aim was not really to screw with the old man's gaming spree. No, the real reason why she had been there was actually to ensure that the old man would die in the near future.

Having assaulted Einzbern Castle in the past, or rather, in a different future, the former King of Knights knew the full extent of its defences. Most of the people in the castle were either alchemists or maids, thus making them useless for battle. However, thanks to Kiritsugu's influence, the Einzbern Castle in Germany, unlike the one in Fuyuki, had literally become a fortress. It's Boundary Field was powerful, that much was true, but to someone like her, breaking through it was just too easy. Once she did, however... it was not pretty.

Arturia remembered grimly, how she, despite possessing speed that was beyond human, had enormous difficulty trying to get past the defences Acht put up which was a combination of magecraft and modern technology (and beyond), ideas which the former King of Knights knew was only possible for someone who was either an addict gamer, an anime and movie fanatic, or both, and had the ability to put those fantasy ideas into reality... something which Acht successfully managed to do. The former King of Knights recalled it, how some the drones and flying machines that were spread out throughout the Einzbern Castle were eerily similar to a certain galactic movie that had released the last three episodes during the seventies, whereas releasing the first three episodes later, whatever the logic was behind it. Either way, fighting against robots that were powered with prana, not to mention that some of them were equipped with something similar to light sabres, was certainly not easy. Though luckily enough, Acht, despite being an expert magus, had not found a way to emulate or mimic the use of 'the force,' or build something like the Death Star. For if the head of the Einzbern family had managed to do so... things would have certainly gotten ugly.

And yet, even without the mind over matter thing which could literally be used to crush mountains just by thinking about it, something which Arturia could not learn or imitate no matter how hard she tried, that did not change the fact that things still almost got out of control. As just like in many movies she had watched, the head of the Einzbern family also adopted the cliché 'If I die, I'm going to take you with me,' ideology that is used by both protagonists and antagonists,, in the form of an energy bomb, and the resulting explosion that was triggered when Arturia killed the old magus was at a nuclear level.

Regardless, the old man would not be able to do something like that anymore. At this time, even though the droids were not yet present and only mines were in place, as Arturia half-expected, the old man had indeed already placed a self destruct sequence to the entire Einzbern Castle in case he died. However, that will not work anymore, as she had already disabled the bomb that was meant to blow everything to oblivion upon his death. The connection between Acht's prana and the device has not been severed of course, but now, even if he died, no big bang of some sort would happen. And speaking of bombs, the former King of Knights actually installed one of her own, undetectable trinkets in the old man's room, which would activate two days later, during which time she, along with Kiritsugu and Irisveil would be on two separate planes headed for Fuyuki (although unknown to the two, Arturia was planning to take someone else along with them).

True, the bomb was not designed to cause a powerful explosion, but the damage it would cause would be enough, more than enough, to take out the head of the Einzbern family, and him alone.

"What a peaceful evening..."

For now though, the former King of Knights decided that she would just enjoy the peaceful, quiet night, for once the Holy Grail War started, she probably would not have any time do so.

"ASSASSIN YOU (CENSORED) PIECE OF (CENSORED)! COME OUT AND FACE ME, YOU (CENSORED) COWARD!"

Though sadly, with regards to having a peaceful night, it seems as if she spoke too soon.

**xxxXXXxxx**

Saber was pissed. Really, really, very pissed. Normally, despite being a naturally short-tempered individual, the King of Knights, having served as a King and thus dealt with politics, was able to hide her emotions, whatever emotion it might be, be it anger, joy or sadness.

In fact, this cold facade of hers, aside from the fact that she had no qualms of sacrificing whole villages for victory, was probably why people saw her as a King who does not have and does not understand human emotions. So no matter how pissed off she really is, it never really showed on her face. She could smile gently even she was angry, and in contrast, she could look angry even if she was feeling happy.

All of the training, all of those years of experience, however, have presently been proving to be useless, in the face of her present adversary... none other than Servant Assassin, Namikaze Minato.

Yes, the King of Knights knew that she was in no position to complain. And indeed, Saber had tried, done her best, to tolerate the Servant of Stealth, difficult though it was.

It is a known-fact, as was the knowledge that was granted to her when she was summoned, that a Servant's primarily role was to eliminate other Servants while protecting their Master and if they make it to the end, the Holy Grail would appear and she can have her wish of redoing things granted. Sadly, the King of Knights found that she was unable to perform either of these duties, for her Master completely ignored her, no, not just ignored her, but her Master, Emiya Kiritsugu, would always leave whenever she was present! How was she supposed to protect him if the man did not want to be around her?

To make matters worse, her Master was getting along well with Assassin, an enemy Servant! Well, given that he was the Servant of her Master's wife it should understandable, but still, that did not change the fact that Assassin was NOT his Servant. His Servant was HER, not Assassin.

The King of Knights will never admit it to herself, but in reality, she was feeling left out, as well as feeling jealous of Assassin.

Instead, she convinced herself that she was not feeling left out and envious and instead acknowledged the more valid reason, like the fact that Assassin was an enemy Servant, and was not HER Master's Servant. She was just applying basic logic. She most certainly was not jealous.

Whether she was jealous of Assassin or not, however, had nothing to do with why the King of Knights was pissed off at the moment.

No, the real reason why she was burning with rage was because of Assassin's anti-no tactics, which he was undoubtedly using to annoy h—to further undermine Saber's already unstable relationship with her Master, Kiritsugu, something which he had been doing from the very first day they were summoned.

It happened a day before. While Saber was standing guard in front of her Master's door, something dropped from the ceiling suddenly, which alerted the Servant of the Sword's senses, and thus she approached whatever the object was with utmost caution, which turned out to be a _lion plushy_.

Normally, such things would not have affected the stoic King of Knights. However, it so happened that she liked lions. Her origin may be that of a dragon, but she liked lions better. So instead of slicing it in half or ignoring it, the King of Knights picked up the stuffed animal...

Only for it to vanish in a puff of smoke just as she was cuddling it, something which made Saber a little sad.

Well, it was not really much of a problem, since no harm was done... except that with unfortunate timing, as the King of Knights looked to the side, she realized in horror that her Master was looking at her and had seen the whole thing, had seen her in her melancholic moments. And ever since that time, the Magus Killer had become even more distant, and had only ever allowed Assassin to guard the door.

For the King of Knights, it was a most humiliating experience, to be caught at a moment of weakness. However, it does not stop there.

Servants, being what they are, don't really need sleep. However, since Saber had nothing better to do, as well as the fact that she could not turn into spirit form, she decided to sleep so that she would cause less strain for her Master... a big mistake.

The Servant of the Sword did not know exactly why, but for some reason, on that day, the people in the Einzbern Castle, the maids, her Master's daughter who was laughing heartily, her Master's wife who was giggling, and in fact, even her Master who normally had a strong pokerface that hid his emotions, had his lips twitching out of strained mirth, all of them giving her odd stares. It was not until much later that she discovered the reason why, and when she did...

She snapped.

It was bad enough that Assassin, who she had no doubt was behind it all, had been hogging all the atten- had been proving himself more formidable than she originally thought. Still, despite all that he had done, Saber had been able to tolerate him.

Painting her face to make her look like a clown, however, was the last straw.

Saber did not know exactly how the Servant of Stealth had done it. True, his presence concealment was really high, but for him to paint her face, he would have had to drop her disguise. Besides, even if she got some shut eye, the King of Knights was sure she would have felt it if someone was messing with her face.

And yet, she didn't. In fact, had it not been for the fact that she accidentally looked in a mirror, it was possible, if no one ever pointed it out to her, that she would have fought through the Holy Grail War, win or lose, without once realizing what had been done to her. She could not help but imagine the shame and humiliation she would have suffered had she not noticed it in time and headed off into battle with graffiti all over her face.

The worst part, however, was that even though she was now aware of it, no matter what or how hard she tried, the paint just won't come off. Maybe she will be forced to fight in the Heaven's Feel with a paint job on her face after all.

She had been decadent, complacent, and she paid the price for it. With everything that has happened, especially with her walking around with paint all over her face (which was made of a substance that she could not even feel), she knew she had just about lost most, if not all, of what little respect her Master had for her.

And this was something she could not allow to pass without retaliation.

Getting the Holy Grail? Using its power so that she could turn back time and change history, so that she could be a better King than she had been, or better yet, let someone else take the throne? At the moment, all of these, her goal, her desire to serve her country better, had been forgotten by the King of Knights.

"ASSASSIN YOU (CENSORED) PIECE OF (CENSORED)! COME OUT AND FACE ME, YOU (CENSORED) COWARD!"

For all she cared about, was revenge. Revenge on the damned Servant that pulled a prank of her and had humiliated her so. She was going to find him no matter what, and when she did...

And there was nothing anyone could do to stop her.

"(CENSORED)! (CENSORED)! (CENSORED)! (CENSORED)! (CENSORED!)"

And as the King of Knights continued her rampage in the castle, the Servant of Stealth, safely hidden in a corner, had her eyes opened wide, unable to believe what she was see—hearing. For while it was true that there were times when she had gone berserk in the past, she could not recall a time when nothing but a stream of swearwords came out of her mouth.

_I'm- no, she's just as bad as Hidan,_ thought the former King of Knights to herself, wondering if she had pushed her past self's buttons too far, or if this King Arthur in front of her was a different version of herself altogether, courtesy of the kaleidoscope. (Kishua Zelretch: "You people never get tired of blaming me, do you?")

**xxxXXXxxx**

"Isn't this so romantic, Onii-chan?"

It was a nice beautiful afternoon, and currently, Ilya was wearing a smile on her face, as she looked over at the horizon, where a beautiful setting sun met her eyes, which was indeed a sight to behold.

And indeed, Shirou would have agreed with his wife that the situation they were in was indeed romantic.

If only they were watching the sunset from a beach or a hilltop, not on top of a small island in the middle of nowhere with one palm tree that could only be occupied by five people.

In truth, the retired hero of justice half-expected something like this to happen. His wife, as he knew full well, was a really good driver and pilot and, if it was only in terms of skill and potential, even though he was a good driver and pilot himself, Ilya was without a doubt better than him. Unfortunately, even though his wife had natural riding skills, just like her mother, she tends to lose her mind whenever she was driving or piloting.

And thus, even though she was basically an A-Class pilot, due to her eccentricity, they ended up crash landing. For his wife, who was enjoying flying her toy (which she managed to acquire by hypnotizing a number of people), forgot that the plane only had enough fuel to cover the distance between Germany and Japan, and thus, it ran out of it, and this was the result.

Of course, a vehicular accident, given the number of times they've been in one (as far as Shirou remembered, whenever Ilya was allowed to drive, they end up in an accident one out of two times), could not possibly kill them. In fact, they even managed to survive a space shuttle accident without so much as a scratch (A few years before, when Ilya was still going to school, there was a time when they infiltrated NASA , putting themselves in great danger as well as nearly getting the attention of the CIA had it not been for their ability to modify memories, just because Ilya wanted to have an outer space field trip.).

Technically, if Shirou wanted, it would have been possible for them to leave the island and head for the Japan. After all, mainly due to anime influence, they had learned a prana-induced version of the arts known as tree, wall and water walking. Much as the retired hero of justice hated to admit, watching anime does have its uses. However...

"I'm hungry."

A few minutes before, the beautiful view had been enough to distract her, but now that the sun had set, Ilya had gone back to whining and complaining. Normally, such an attitude would have caused even the most patient people in the world to snap and lose their temple. However, Shirou, who truly loved his sister/wife, as well as the fact that they had been together for a long time, was used to her quirks, so it really did not bother him that much anymore. Still, as he heard his own stomach starting to growl, he knew he would have think of something of something soon, as the palm tree on the small island they were on, unfortunately, did not have a single fruit.

_I know!_ the retired hero of justice exclaimed in his thoughts, as a brilliant idea popped into his head.

"Ilya, how would you like shark fin soup for dinner?"

"I would love some!" the silver-haired female replied cheerfully. "But where will you get the shark fin? I don't see- Ohhh." The girl muttered in understanding, for Shirou, who was wearing a smile on his face, was pointing to the water, where a number of dorsal fins could be seen encircling the island.

"Wait here, Ilya," the retired hero of justice told his spouse, as he walked casually from the island into the water as if it were solid. "Dinner will be served shortly."

"GO ONII-CHAN!"

Empowered by the encouraging words, Emiya Shirou traced a number of red spears above him, which floated in mid-air. And with a snap of his finger, he sent them flying downwards, with incredible speed, at his targets in the water.

"GAE BOLG!"

Yes, they would certainly have a wonderful dinner tonight. And once Ilya regained her energy (or at least once she was in the mood), they would start heading out for Fuyuki City once again.

**xxxXXXxxx**

Meanwhile, in the quarters of the Assassination Squad of a certain Mafia organization, a certain silver-haired MALE was screaming in terror and rage at what he had just witnessed. Being an assassin, as well as the fact that he had a lot of bloodlust and truly enjoyed killing as if it were sport, bloody and gruesome scenes, cut off limbs, chopped off heads, smashed bones, and guts spilling in every direction were things that he could tolerate as it was part of his everyday life.

However, there were things which could make even the mighty member of the Assassination Squad shudder in fear, and the sight he saw was something which would traumatize him as long as he lived.

Being a member of one of the most powerful groups, which was made of seven, seven insanely powerful and equally insane people who could take out armies of thousands as if it was nothing, the man, like the rest of them , had sought becoming stronger. He had defeated the Sword Emperor in the past, but even with his power, he thought that he would never be able to match the leader of their group, whose flame element and overall raw power was far stronger than his own.

However, he strived hard, really hard, going through insane amounts of training that was even more difficult and insane than the already insane amounts of training that his fellow psychotic assassins underwent. And in the end, even though it was only once, he managed to fight the leader of their group to a stalemate.

And part of his success was thanks to his trusty box weapons, which managed to match his boss' Ligre Tempesta di Cieli.

Which was why the sword expert could not help but feel a mixture of fear and rage. A month before, due to an incident which was related to some dimension-crossing experiment that was conducted by an insane Arcobaleno (Kishua Zelretch: Wow, for a second there I thought I was about to get blamed again."), the rain element assassin ended up losing his precious box weapon, as it was sent into another dimension. Due to certain crappy calculations, according to the scientist, it would be impossible to connect to that particular dimension again, and thus the box weapon was lost forever. And no matter how much he begged, raged, begged and raged, begging being out of character for him, according to the one to blame for it in the first, there was no hope of retrieving the box weapon.

Of course, the Sword Emperor did not lose hope. After all, even though it was far away, being connected to it, he could still share his box weapon's vision, as well as emotions. For his box weapon, just like the cat which belonged to the Storm Guardian, was alive.

Now, however, he knew that it was hopeless. And the sword wielding assassin could not help but cry in despair, as he watched his box weapon, Squalo Grande Pioggia, defeated, impaled by a red spear, before its fins were cut off and turned into Shark's Fin Soup, along with other sharks which had become part of the pack which his box weapon, through brutal encounters had managed to gather and bent to his will.

If only his box weapons did not activate on its own. If only he could go there and take revenge for what happened. And yet, there was nothing he could but watch helplessly through his box weapon's eyes, as the couple who had hunted it down started devouring their meal with gusto , his proud partner in so many battles had been reduced into nothing but a simple meal.

This was the last scene which the Sword Emperor saw, before his box weapon ran out of energy and his connection to that world was completely cut off, with no hope of being able to take vengeance upon them.

**xxxXXXxxx**

**To be continued...**

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES**

Alright, another chapter out. Well, now that I thought about it, because of writing this fic, I remembered a certain anime/manga that was actually really good but unfortunately did not have a satisfying ending. If you read the last segment of this chapter, I'm sure you can guess which anime the idea came from. The seven flames... hehehe. If you'll ask me if they'll make an appearance in my fic though, then I'm sorry to say but the answer is no. The appearance of box weapons here is only something I did on a whim, and I have no intention of making this a full crossover. They probably will not appear again. Kind of like an extra.

Oh, and as a side note, you can expect that there will a little bit here and there in my fic that were taken from movies, animes, cartoons, novels, etc. I don't own them of course, and I'm only using them for fun not for profit.

By the way, I need a bit of help. When I was playing on the arcades before, I remember some sort of game in which you have a hammer which you literally use to hammer on the screen or holes where weasels or cockroaches would come out. If any of you remember the name of that game, please tell me, I would really appreciate it.

And speaking of hammers, due to a certain idea I have for the next chapter, if there is any hammer you would like to recommend as a Noble Phantasm, please mention them, either pm them to me or post it in the reviews. Adding the details, name of owner and power of said hammers, as well as the movie/anime or whatever literature they came from, be it ancient or modern, would be greatly appreciated.

But enough about that...

And like always, I hope you enjoy reading this chapter...

Later then, people...


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Fate/Stay Night or any of the Type-Moon Novels, as well as the ideas from plenty of other anime like Naruto, as well as movies, novels, manga, etc. and am merely borrowing their ideas purely for entertainment purpose only.

* * *

**Chapter 5: Reunion  
**

Inside of a plane that was headed for Fuyuki City, a certain Servant, namely Servant Saber, the great and mighty Servant of the Sword who, because of her class, was considered as the most powerful of the Servant Classes, was currently fuming, still finding it hard to get over the events which happened before their flight. She knew of course, that she had to get over it as soon as possible. With the Holy Grail War looming over their heads, she knew that the most logical decision would be to forget about her grudge and focus on the War instead, something which she was finding really difficult to do. And it was all because of one of her allies, Assassin.

Despite being left out of the loop most of the time, on the last day before their departure, Saber had been informed of their arrangements. The War was going to be fought in Fuyuki, so as part of their plan, they would be leaving in two groups, both flights being twenty-four apart from each other.

Having fought wars in which she had been victorious, the King of Knights was naturally a skilled tactician herself. Her Master might not acknowledge it, but with the details that were shared with her, the King of Knights had a pretty good idea of what her Master was up to. According to Kiritsugu (who, despite allowing her to attend that meeting, had not once addressed or spoken to her directly, with either Assassin or Assassin's Master doing it for him despite the fact that they were in the same room), they already have knowledge on six out of seven of the Masters, the location of three they were already aware of. And as she had expected, Assassin was to be sent out on reconnaissance, his role, as should be expected of a Servant of his Class, was to gather information and spy on the other Masters.

In truth, this particular course of action made the Servant of the Sword feel conflicted. Part of her was actually pleased with the news. Just like Masters, Servants also had the ability to view a Servant's stats, and with what Saber saw of the Servant of Stealth, she could not help but feel pleased about it, for all his parameters were at D, which means that in a frontal confrontation, if the two of them were to fight, he would be no match for her. And if luck was on her side, Assassin might as well get killed by the other Servants if he was detected. Saber knew that it was wrong of her to think this way, but she couldn't help it. Besides, she was confident that even if Assassin died, which she was hoping would happen, she alone would be enough to lead them to victory, and it would be her chance to prove herself.

The King of Knights may hate the Servant of Stealth greatly, but this hatred does not extend to Assassin's Master. And if they ever make it to the Grail, she would make sure that both them, her Master and his wife, would have their wish granted.

However, another part of her was not pleased with the arrangements. True, the second part of their plan would involve her luring out enemy Masters and Servants and she would thus be able to showcase her skills. In fact, she actually had no qualms with the plan that she was to go into the battlefield accompanied by a false Master, but she did not mind it. No, the real reason why she was pissed was because she was NOT allowed to accompany her Master at all.

Yes, perhaps she could understand it if her Master wanted to accompany his wife, even if it was a logically incorrect move, but the fact that she, his Servant, had been left behind, was something she found hard to accept.

...

_"As long as we have Assassin with us, I'm sure we can deal with any problems we might encounter."_

_..._

And as she remembered the words that came out of her Master, Emiya Kiritsugu's mouth, the Servant of the Sword could not help but grit her teeth in anger and frustration. No matter how hard she tried, no matter what she did, the King of Knights simply could not gain the trust and confidence of her own Master, and it was all the damned fault of the damned Servant of Stealth.

Ever since she had been summoned, the King of Knights had done her best, did everything she could, to tolerate the Servant of Stealth, who had somehow managed to outmanoeuvre her every single time, using discreet and subtle means. Being an Assassin Class, Saber knew that it should not have come as a surprise, as Servants who are summoned as Assassins were crafty, clever and really good at using underhanded tactics. However, the present Assassin was perhaps even craftier than the regular Assassin, and much as Saber was loath to admit it, despite the great anger she felt for the man at being driven into a corner, he had somewhat gained her grudging respect.

Although this grudging respect was not enough for her to stay her blade. Much as she hated herself for not being able to control herself , but every time she saw the Servant of Stealth, despite being a King who was believed to have no emotions, the King of Knights, whenever blonde-haired man was in her sights, was hard put to restrain herself from chopping him to bits, and the only thing which prevented her from killing the seemingly insane Servant was the fact that he was an ally, though it was proving to be difficult, very difficult, after all the tricks that he had played on her...

"Saber, how are you feeling?"

"I'm fine. There's no need for you to concern yourself over me." Saber replied to the monotonous which came from the person seating on the passenger's seat beside her, Maiya Hisau, the Magus Killer's assistant, who will be taking up the role of being Saber's fake Master.

"Very well, then."

"..."

"Saber?" The female magus inquired after a while.

"Yes?" The King of Knights said as calmly as possible, as she looked sideways at the woman she was going to be working with.

"Do you like stuffed animals?"

?!

To the King of Knight's deli-horror, she realized that her acting Master was holding a lion plushy in her face, while the one holding it was gazing at her intently, as if scrutinizing her reaction.

Despite the great amount of hate and fury she felt, Saber had been trying to do her best, despite failing at it, to control her anger whenever she was in the presence of Assassin.

Now, however, as she saw, from corner of her eye, the title of the book which Maiya Hisau was holding in her other hand, she was sure that she would not be able to control herself. Ally or not, Saber was sure that once she meets Assassin face to face once again, she knew that the chance was high that she was going to unconsciously go berserk.

For the book which Maiya, who was going to act out the role of Saber's Master, was reading... was a book on mental illnesses and maladies, and by the way the female soldier was giving her side glances from time to time for the rest of the trip, seeing as she had accepted the stuffed toy on reflex and was unable to stop herself from cuddling it, the Servant of the Sword knew exactly what it meant.

Screw going berserk unconsciously and unintentionally. Once she sees Assassin again, the Servant of the Sword had now decided that she was going to go berserk _consciously_ and _intentionally._

And if her Master was forced to use a Command Seal on her to stop her from her rampage, then so be it. It's not as if their relationship was going to get any worse anyway.

Thus, the King of Knights continued thinking about such depressing thoughts in her mind, hardly noticing that she was already unconsciously tearing apart the lion plushy on her lap, which earned her horrified stares from the other passengers of the plane, while her female magus companion was writing profusely in her notes, a report about the Servant of the Sword which she will relay to Kiritsugu later, along with a couple of recommendations, which include breaking the contract with the insane Servant (since she was writing in code, the Servant would not be able to read it), or if said Servant was still needed, that the King of Knights should first undergo a mental and psychiatric examination.

_She might as well be a Berseker_, thought Maiya Hisau to herself.

**xxxXXXxxx**

"THIS IS SO MUCH FUN!"

Meanwhile, somewhere in Fuyuki, a young couple was currently roaming aimlessly around, visiting the shops, places, sceneries, and everything else the city has to offer.

In truth, having a tour and taking the day off was not really a part of Emiya Kiritsugu's plans. Originally, his intention was not to have fun but rather, to scout the city and study its geography, building structures and locations, as doing so would be a great help in their War efforts. And in fact, in his original plans, he was actually supposed to go with his assistant, Maiya, and his wife's Servant, Assassin, whereas his wife Irisviel, was going to serve as bait and take Saber along with her.

However, due to certain unexpected developments, the Magus Killer was forced to modify his schemes in order to better suit the situation. One of which of course, was the fact that the Servant of the Sword, despite being the supposedly great and mighty King Arthur, was proving to be rather incompetent.

Yes, Kiritsugu had to admit that he was impressed. Even though he resented the legend, the stats and parameters of Servant Saber was indeed to his satisfaction. Not only that, but the fact the she had Riding as one of her skills would mean that she could use modern vehicles, another advantage. And to top it off, the Servant of the Sword had an A++ Anti-Fortress Noble Phantasm, one which, if used correctly along with the proper tactics, could very well be utilized to eliminate a Servant or Master, or both, in one shot. Overall, even though the Magus Killer was not happy to see that the Once and Future King of England was actually a girl who was forced to take the throne because no one else would or could, the abilities of said girl were indeed potentially useful to a devastating level.

Of course, potentially useful was the keyword.

Now, however, the Magus Killer was unsure if having her around was actually an asset or not, for the Servant of the Sword was proving to be more of a liability.

Kiritsugu, being the shrewd and calculating person that he was, was naturally not oblivious to the fact that the whole affair with Saber was being orchestrated by someone from behind the scenes, who was none other than Assassin. The Servant of Stealth, the Magus Killer had to admit, was proving himself to be quite the individual. True, he had only been playing pranks, but pranks, as far as Kiritsugu could tell, was something equivalent to the 'unexpected,' which means that Assassin had two possible motives. One, of course was to humiliate his ally Servant, and make her fall grace with his Master so that when the time comes, he would be the one to get his wish granted. Two, he was simply testing the Servant of the Sword if she was someone worth working with.

If the first one was his true intent, then Kiritsugu had to admit that Assassin had succeeded fairly well. After all that he had seen, the Magus Killer already knew which of the two Servants was more useful and reliable, and it certainly was not the alleged strongest of the Servant Classes. If the second one was his purpose, then if Kiritsugu were in Assassin's place, he would be sorely disappointed with his ally, but would undoubtedly be pleased if they somehow managed to make it to the end with the two of them. Assassin may have declared that he had no interest whatsoever, but the Magus Killer was certain that it was nothing but a lie.

Yes, Servant Assassin was indeed proving himself, despite his pranking tendencies, as someone who was competent and professional, and had earned Kiritsugu's respect. And yet, for some reason, there was something about the Servant of Stealth which made Kiritsugu feel uneasy. And that something, was the fact that no matter how he tried, the Magus Killer could not fully read and comprehend the Servant of Stealth.

In the past few days, the Servant of Stealth had not only proven himself capable as a Servant, having managed to sneak up on Servant Saber, who had Instinct as her Class Skill, and paint her face without being detected, he had also shown how good he was as a strategist and tactician. Not only that, but his preferred choices and suggested plans were similar to the ones which the Magus Killer came up with, if not better. And as Kiritsugu could not help but notice, when it comes to planning and strategizing, he and the Servant of Stealth had a similar line of thinking. However, there was something about the Servant of Stealth that had unnerved the Magus Killer.

The night before, due to the fact that they would soon be leaving, the family of three, which include the father, the mother, and the daughter, opted to sleep in the same bed together one last time. Due to the tension of what was to come, however, the Magus Killer found it difficult to sleep, which was perhaps a good thing, as had it not been for his nerve-induced insomnia, he probably would never have heard it.

...

"_Don't worry Ilya. I'll make sure your mother and father return to your side safe and sound. I'll protect them no matter what, I promise."_

_..._

And it was these words that came out of Assassin's mouth, which made Kiritsugu feel conflicted and confused.

Part of him, the emotionless Magus Killer who wished to become a hero and save everyone, immediately felt a lot of alarms in his head start ringing, for the words of the Servant of Stealth implied that he was planning something behind their backs. Assassin, however he managed to find out, was already aware that Irisviel was the vessel of the Holy Grail and was thus destined to die, which meant that there was a very high possibility that Assassin was planning to betray and sabotage them.

However, another part of him, the part known as Emiya Kiritsugu, the loving and caring side of him, was telling him otherwise. The Magus Killer wanted to harden his heart, and yet, there was something about the Servant of Stealth that had made it almost impossible for him to do so.

He may not know his true intentions, but for some reason the Magus Killer could not understand, he could not help but feel that he and Assassin were very similar indeed, in more ways other than just having the same line of thought, which made the Servant of Stealth both a very unstable yet reliable ally.

"Kiritsugu, let's go over there next!" The Magus Killer's wife shouted cheerfully, as she danced and twirled like an overaged child, running towards a food cart which sold noodles.

Still, when it comes right down it, it did not really matter. As whatever happens, no matter what odds he would be against, the Magus Killer was determined to win the Holy Grail War. Whatever Assassin's motives were, he will just have to deal with him later.

For now though, Kiritsugu decided to just keep his thoughts to himself, and just be thankful to the Servant of Stealth for his suggestions, which include the use dye to change the color of their hair and the use of contact lenses (Irisviel's hair was now pitch black and was wearing blue contact lenses over her eyes while Kiritsugu had his hair dyed brown and wore brown contact lenses), as well as his choice of outfits for them, for it helped the man and his wife greatly to blend in with the other people who were touring and enjoying a nice stroll in the Shinto district. He did not know how the Servant of Stealth had such a fashion sense, picking the dull and unnoticeable ones for them (regular shirt and pants, which made the Magus Killer suspect that Assassin could be a he only physically, although his face was already very feminine), but he was still somewhat grateful.

"By the way Kiritsugu, where is my car?"

"Oh, sorry, Iri, I forgot about that," The Magus Killer replied sheepishly, as he scratched the back of his head, while his wife started pouting. "Don't think too much about it though. If the place is too far, we can take the bus instead." Kiritsugu assured her.

As well as thank him for his advice about leaving their car in Germany. Kiritsugu loved his wife, and it was for this reason that he will not permit her to drive throughout the war. For if he did, the short time that they have together left might be tragically cut off by a car accident.

Not to mention, that in his Magus Killer persona's perspective, allowing the Einzbern woman to drive was a grave mistake, since with her blatant disregard of traffic rules, the Vessel of the Grail due to her recklessness might end up dead before the War even begins, and if the container was destroyed, then the Grail would not appear, and his wish would not be granted.

Kiritsugu will never admit it, despite the sweat that was beginning to form on his face as he recalled the number of times they had driven in the Einzbern grounds together, that he was actually, despite being able to maintain a neutral face on the outside, frightened to his very core whenever it was Irisviel who was sitting on the driver's seat.

Truth be told, the Magus Killer, having lived and fought as a mercenary before he was hired by the Einzbern, was actually used to life threatening situations, which of course include hot pursuits in vehicles. However, the danger and rough ride he had had in cars and vehicles before was nothing compared to the sheer terror he felt whenever he and Irisviel were riding together with her on the wheels.

Although for some reason he could not understand, he could not help but feel fear of his wife even when they were not yet inside a vehicle. He had already gotten over it mostly of course, but it still seemed very peculiar for him to feel that way of someone he loves with all his heart.

**xxxXXXxxx**

Meanwhile, Servant Assasin, Arturia Pendragon, the former King of Knights who was currently using the alias 'Minato Namikaze' to hide her true identity, was currently having a migraine. And the reason she was having a migraine was because of a certain silver-haired girl who, despite her small size, was actually already nine years old, not three.

"_LET ME GO! LET ME GO! YOU KIDNAPPER! PERVERT! SICKO! BASTARD! PEDOPHILE!"_

Yes, she knew that she deserved being shouted at that way, as from the point of view of Ilya, she was definitely a kidnapper and a sicko. However, she was certainly not a bastard (since bastard only applies to a guy and while she was disguised as a male she was most definitely female), a pervert, nor a pedophile. Well, maybe she was a bit of a pervert, but while she was into girls (which means bastard could still apply to her even though she was physically a woman), she was not into small children.

Having set into motion a plan to assassinate the Head of the Einzbern family, the former King of Knights decided that it was best to take Ilya with her to avoid any problems. Of course, she was careful, having placed a privacy seal on Acht's room to make sure that no one would hear the explosion that would occur and would probably take weeks to discover(since Acht according to the reliable information she got only went out of his room once a month), but still, just to be safe, she decided that it would be better if Kiritsugu's and Irisviel's daughter was not in Germany when it happened... which it already did in fact.

It had already been a while since then, since she had put Silencing Seals on to block out her voice, yet the words of the small girl (not to mention Arturia's shock that the young version of Ilya had quite an array of nasty words despite her young age), were still echoing in her ears, and the former King of Knights must admit that it hurts a little, for the reason why she abducted the girl was to rescue her, even though it still counts as abduction.

She had to admit, however, that while the method she used to take Ilya undetected was effective, it was not exactly humane. After all, sealing someone into a scroll, even if it was a spacious room that allowed breathing freely and was full of Ilya's favourite toys and foodstuff, was still the same as imprisoning someone.

Still, this was not the time to think of such things, for she had work to do. Right now, her job was simply reconnaissance, to patrol the city, checking out the known Master's location, defences as well as their habits and other information. Of course, that was not her only intention, and in fact, the former King of Knights was already plotting ways of how to change things for the better, like reconciling with one of his knights, completing a duel that was ended dishonourably by her Master in the past, rescuing a certain girl who was in the clutches of a worm using magus, and killing off an evil priest.

Normally, as Arturia knew full well, Kiritsugu would probably have not allowed it, since doing this job meant that he and Irisviel would be sitting ducks without their Servant. He was a paranoid person after all, and while it is true that most mages would avoid a confrontation in broad daylight, there will be always be exceptions, as the former King of Knights only knew full well, having once fought Rider and her Blood Fort Andromeda in the middle of the day. However...

_..._

"_Irisviel, Kiritsugu, take these with you."_

"_What are they?" The silver-haired woman inquired._

"_Let's just say they are my special kunai. If ever you are in danger, just throw them to the ground or else scream at me through your mental link, and as long as you are within two kilometres from where I am, I will be able to get to you in an instant. There will be no need for you to waste your Command Spell to summon me."_

_..._

Hiraishin no jutsu (Flying Thunder God Technique), a signature move that was created by the Nidaime Hokage (and was used extensively by the Fourth Hokage who the former King of Knights was currently impersonating) which makes use of space and time manipulation, allowing the user to teleport to any given location instantly.

Of course, Arturia's technique was not really the Hiraishin but rather, a different technique altogether, even if the effects and use is the same. Just like her seals and scrolls (her scrolls make use of the concept of pocket dimensions), even if it was similar to what she had watched in the anime, they are not the same moves, and even if they have the same uses, the principles and mechanics they follow are somewhat different.

Of course since the anime never really explained how it worked, being it fiction and all, the former King of Knights thought there was no harm in using the name, since her Hiraishin was real, whereas the one in the anime was not real.

When they had a vacation in England a few years back, Arturia and her companions came upon her broken sword Caliburn, which had been buried deep in the ruins of Camelot by accident (Ilya, who had been itching to try out her new bow, accidentally fired her Broken Phantasm at the remains of the castle which was reduced even further, but caused the lost weapon to be unearthed). And the metal from Caliburn was used, mixed in with other alloys, to produce the kunai which she used for her Hiraishin.

Even though she broke it, the sword still recognized her as its Master, and thus it was reforged somewhat, into a different form of blade. And since a sword is just about a part of a warrior's body, the kunai acted as an extension of the former King of Knights body, and thus, added with her increased knowledge on magecraft, the former King of Knights was able to use this concept to her advantage, and thus developed the technique.

The only problem is that due to her kunai being made from Caliburn, it was possible that Saber, who was fond of the sword, might be able to recognize it, and if she did. Having her precious Sword of Assured Victory melted though will probably drive the King of Knights, who had not yet moved on from her regrets and her desire to redo things unlike her future self, even more berserk than she already was.

Well, if she did recognize it, the former King of Knights decided that she will just deal with it when the time comes.

?!

Suddenly, the former King of Knights felt tense. Regarding the kunai which she used for her 'Hiraishin,' (since Arturia could not think of a better name for it, she decided to use the name she got from the anime), due to the limited amount of material, there were only fifty of them in existence, which she had given one each to her friends while she had kept the rest.

However, for some reason she could understand, instead of sensing two of her kunais (as long as they were in a 2 kilometer range, Arturia could sense where they are), she was sensing four of them.

At first she tried to shake the feeling off, thinking that it was her imagination. However, as she tried to feel it once again, she knew that was she felt could not simply be her mind playing tricks on her.

Not to mention the fact that the two individuals carrying her kunai had a very familiar energy signature.

_It can't be... _Arturia whispered to herself.

**Hiraishin no jutsu.**

Completely forgetting about acting calmly and calculatingly, throwing all caution out of the window, the spiky-haired female immediately used teleported to the location of her weapons.

?!

And nearly got herself killed, as a large hammer, a mallet with a wide circumference, swung down at the very spot where she appeared, nearly turning herself into a bloody lump, had it not been for her quick reflexes.

**xxxXXXxxx**

Splat. Splat. Splat.

Matou Zouken knew that he had seen better days. In fact, in all his five hundreds years of existence, he had not seen a day as bad as this one. And right now, he was cowering in fear, more terrified than he had ever been in his entire life.

Being a magus of great knowledge experience, Matou Zouken, once Makiri, had found a way to extend his lifespan indefinitely, by turning his body into Worms, literally. These worms though, unlike normal worms, were equipped with razor teeth and had the power and speed of a piranha, and Zouken uses them to sustain nourishment, by swarming and devouring other living beings, humans of course being the most preferable. He was the predator while the pathetic humans around him were prey, plain and simple.

Now, however, to his horror, the old Worm user found himself in the position of the prey, the hunted, and there was nothing he could about it.

A vampiric creature like himself whose swarms of worm could tear away and devour a person, flesh, blood, bone and everything else would have terrified anyone except for a superior being like Executors, Enforcers, Dead Apostles, and Servants.

Unfortunately for Zouken, he was faced by a superior being. He knew of course, that there was another intruder in the house, but his hands were tied, and he had no time to pay the other one any attention.

"What do you want, Einzbern?" Zouken inquired, trying to keep his voice as he stated at the woman who was tearing through his Worms as if they were nothing. Of all people, he would never expect the weak alchemists to be capable of something like this. Then again, his survival was at stake, so negotiations were in order.

Or not...

Instead, the woman ignored him completely, and continued annihilating his Worms (which to his horror, were running out). To make matters worse, by the direction she was taking, it seemed that the woman, who was currently humming the tune which Zouken recognized as the Funeral March, knew where he was keeping his real body. And if she did reach the significantly large Worm that contained his soul... he was screwed.

Splat. Splat. Splat.

. Splat.

Knowing the negotiations would no longer work, the Worm magus did everything in his power to stop the advance, to no avail. No matter what he tried, no matter what he tried to throw at her, nothing worked. And soon enough, the girl was standing in front of his real body, and he was now lying helpless on the floor, unable to move thanks to that goddamned metal wires which was a trademark of all Einzberns.

If only his wretched son Kariya and his Servant Berserker were around this would not have happened, though unfortunately both of them where nowhere to be seen, as Zouken himself told the man he was not allowed to come back to the Matou Manor without the Holy Grail. And even if he was nearby and willing to help (the chances of which was less than even the chance the answer to one plus one to become three), he probably would not make it quickly enough.

"Please... what do you want..." the old magus pleaded again, trying to buy himself time, only to find himself once again ignored by the woman, and instead she brought her hammer high in the air, her face splitting into a maliscious grin, before shouting in a cheerful voice.

"IT'S HAMMER TIME!"

Splat.

**xxxXXXxxx**

Ilyasviel Emiya (the older one, not the chibi one) was having the time of her life. Well, the reason they were in the Matou Manor was solemn and serious, which was to rescue Sakura, but she just couldn't help herself from humming merrily, as it was just so much fun.

Normally, her Reality Marble, just like her brother's would only allow the copying and projection of weapons which fall under the sword or blade category. However, as they later noticed, just like with shield weapons, non-blade weapons, particularly hammers, can also be Trace and Projected, although the prana cost was higher.

With the amount of prana that Ilya possessed though, this setback was no setback at all and posed no problem.

Just as she and her husband planned, Shirou was going to the basement to rescue Sakura while she, Ilya, her adoptive sister and wife, would go after Zouken's real body.

And indeed, she found it truly fun, eliminating the bug worms or whatever they are which belonged to the old freak Zouken.

Taunting him of course would have been nice, but as Ilya recalled, having the memories of her ancestor, Justizia, implanted within her, what Zouken hated more than being insulted, above anything else, was being ignored.

Thus, despite being a normally noisy and talkative person, Ilya decided to withhold his taunts, and instead watched in amusement, at the man- er, worm's dilemma, when his words were not paid even the slightest bit of attention.

And now, she in front of it, the main body, the foundation of the foul vampiric creature which, if eliminated, will cause the other worms to collapse along with it.

"IT'S HAMMER TIME!" The silver-haired female shouted cheerfully, as she brought her hammer, Mjolnir II which, just like her brother's Caladbolg, was a modified version of the original weapons (in Mojolnir's case, it was modified so that it would have a much wider radius, and was ideal for turning enemies into pancakes), at the helpless and struggling oversized worm that was the main body of Matou Zouken.

Splat.

?!

Only for her stop, as a flash of yellow light, a familiar flash, suddenly occurred.

"Saber? Is that really you?" Ilya asked in disbelief, as she looked at the blonde haired female in front her, thankful that she had managed to stop her hammer just in time.

"Ilya?" the other woman asked, who was equally stunned.

For a moment, the two of them just stared each other in the eyes, emerald on ruby, unable to believe what they were seeing. And then...

"SABER!" The silver-haired female shouted cheerfully, as she dropped the hammer, and launched herself forward, burying her face in the spiky haired blonde's chest, tears falling from her eyes, her heart filled with joy at seeing the person who she came to see and love as her mother. Her hair was spiky at the moment, but the silver-haired girl knew she could not be mistaken. After all, there was no one in existence who could cosplay as the Yellow Flash as well as Saber could.

Splat.

The other woman, feeling the display of affection merely smiled, as she gently combed the silver-haired female's hair with her hands.

Splat.

And thus, in the joy of their reunion, both women's attention focused on each other, hardly paying attention to where they were, or what they were stepping on.

Which happened to be the poor, mutilated, oversized Worm, the corpse of the main body of the head of the Matou family which the two (particularly Ilya) were currently unconsciously still trampling on viciously with every skip they make.

Splat. Splat Splat.

**xxxXXXxxx**

**To be continued...**

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES**

Alright, another chapter out. Anyway not much to say here, although I thank all of you for your suggestions on the hammer thing, although in the end I used Mjolnir, but with a twist.

As for Arturia lovers out there, well, don't take this too seriously, since like I said before, this is only a half serious fic. This is not purely crack, mind you, and there will be serious parts, but like I said it's only half serious and probably the serious part is the lesser half.

And don't forget that one of the two Assassins summoned in the war is also Arturia.

I guess that's all for now.

And like always, I hope you enjoy reading this chapter...

Later then people...


End file.
